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DOMESTIC  POULTRY: 


%  f  rartiral  Crmtk 


Preferable  Breeds  of  Farm-Yard  Poultry, 

THEIR    HISTORY    AND    LEADING    CHARACTERISTICS 
WITH 

COMPLETE  INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  BREEDING  AND  FATTEN- 
ING, AND    PREPARING  FOR  EXHIBITION  AT 
POULTRY  SHOWS,  Etc.,  Etc.  ; 

DERIVED    FROM    THE    AUTHOR'S    EXPERIENCE    AND    OBSERVATION 

BT 

SIMOI^    M.   SAUIlifDEES. 

NEW    A-NID    EN-Xj^KO-EJI)    EDITION'. 


»  >  » 


NEW-YORK : 
ORANGE   JUDD    &    CO.,    41    PARK    ROW. 

1867. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  vear  1866,  by 

ORANGE  JUDD, 

in  tbe  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Soathem  District 

of  New  York. 


TO 
Ur.   E!  B  EJ  N-     W  I  GUI  T, 

OF  BOSTON, 

Corresponding  Secretaru  of  the  Massachusetts  Bortieuttural  Bodttlft 

Etc.,  Etc., 

THIS  LITTLE  WORK  IS  MOST  RESPECTFULLY,  AND  BY  PERMISSIOH, 

B  ED  I  G  A  TED, 

VS  RECOGNITION  OF  HIS  SERVICES  TO 

AMERICAN    r  O  UL  TB  r    FANCIEBB, 


« 

Never  over  feed. 

Never  allow  any  food  to  lie  abotit. 

Never  feed  from  trough,  pan,  basin,  or  any  vessel. 

JBked  only  while  the  birds  will  run  after  the  feed,  and 
not  cUaU  if  th£y  seem  careless  about  it. 

Give  aduM  fowls  their  liberty  at  daybreak. 

Never  purchase  eggs  for  hatching  purposes  until  a  hen 
is  ready  to  sit. 

For  seven  or  eight  days  before  hatching,  sprinkle  the  eggs 
with  cold  water  while  the  hen  is  off.  This  wiU  prevent  the 
frequent  complaint  that  the  chicken  was  dead  in  the  s/iell 


(4 


INTRODUCTORY. 

The  object  of  the  present  treatise  is,  to  present  a  simple 
description  of  the  various  useful  breeds  of  domestic  poul- 
try, exhibiting  plainly  and  practically  the  best  methods  of 
their  management,  and  the  determining  the  purity  of  the 
variety  selected  for  rearing  by  the  young  poultry  fancier. 
Most  of  the  poultry  books  of  the  day  are  voluminous,  valu- 
able chiefly  to  those  acquainted  with  the  subject.  Their 
minute  accounts  of  breeds  of  poultry  seldom  seen  on  this 
continent,  tend  to  swell  the  pages  of  the  book  without  the 
dissemination  of  practically  useful  knowledge.  In  this 
treatise,  I  have  endeavored  to  avoid,  as  much  as  possible, 
such  a  superfluity.  Yet  I  do  not  place  myself  before  the 
public  as  a  rival  to  the  numerous  writers  on  the  subject. 
I  pretend  not  to  rival  them — the  field  (like  the  world)  is 
wide  enough  for  all.  A  few  portions  of  the  work  must 
necessarily  treat  of  the  same  subjects  as  theirs,  although  a 
good  deal  that  is  new,  I  trust,  will  be  found.  I  have  given, 
with  my  own  experience,  that  of  well  known  poultry 
fanciers  and  #  hen-wives,"  among  which  will  be  found  that 
of  C.  N.  Bement,  Miss  E.  Watts,  Mrs.  Ferguson  Blair,  John 
Baily,  M.  Jacque,  and  Mariot  Didieux.  My  aim  is  to  fur- 
nish a  brief  but  authentic  and  reliable  work  on  poultry, 
without  embarrassing  the  reader  with  useless  theories  and 
projects  not  feasible,  and  with  the  hope  that  my  labors 
may  not  be  found  useless,  I  place  my  unpretending  work 
before  my  readers. 


S.  M.  Saundkes. 


Port  Richmond,  Staten  Island,  iV.  Y. 


(S) 


AUTHORS     CITED. 


/Ulen,  Hon.  L.  F.,  on  Dorkings 41 

Bailey,  John,  on  Brahmas 35 

Bailey,  John,  on  Dorkings 45 

Brent,  B.  P.,  on  Dorkings 42 

Columella,  on  5-toed  Hens •• 43 

Dldleux,  Mariot,  on  Dorkings 46 

Dixon,  E.  S.,  on  Dorkings 47 

Douglas,  John,  on  Roup  and  Gapes .' 83 

Fuller,  Ber.  R.  W.,  on  Brahmas 37 

Geyelin,  6.  K.,  (in  Appendix) 107 

Giles,  John,  on  Aylesbury  Ducks 96 

Jaque,  Charles. 71 

Millett-Robinet,  Madame,  on  Brahmas 7.^-^ 36 

Smith,  G.  B.,  on  Brahmas 34 

Thompson,  J.  C,  on  Brahmas 38 

White,  H.  6.,  on  Brahmas 40 

Wight,  Dr.  Eben,  on  Brahmas 38 

Wight,  Dr.  Eben,  on  Dorkings 40 


CONTENTS. 


Dedication....^ 9 

Golden  Rules 4 

Introduction I 

Authors  Cited 6 

List  of  Illustrations.... .  ..     8 

Origin  of  our  Domestic  Fowls 0 

Poultry  Houses 10 

Feeding  of  Poultry 15 

Breeding  and  Management  of  Chlckans IV 

Fattening  of  Poultry 22 

Diseases  of  Fowls 39 

Brahma  Pootra  Fowls 34 

Dorking  Fowls 41 

Spanish  Fowls 49 

Game  Fowls 54 

Malay  Fowls 60 

Cochin  China  Fowls 62 

Hamburgh  Fowls 66 

Poland  Fowls 68 

Bantams 70 

Leghorn  Fowls 73 

French  Breeds  of  Fowls— CrevecosMr,  Houdan,  La  Flecht 75 

The  Domestic  Turkey 81 

The  Guinea  Fowl 86 

The  Domestic  Goose— CAina,  Bremen,  Toulmite 89 

Feeding  and  Management  of  Ducks 93 

White  Aylesbury  Ducks 95 

The  Musk  or  Muscowy  Duck 97 

The  Rouen  Duck 100 

Poultry  for  Exhibition 102 

Appendix— Mr.  Geyelin's  Visit  to  the  Poultry  Yards  of  France 107—116 

Terms  and  Technicalities 117 

Ind« 119 


(D 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Brahma  Footra  Fowls (Frontispiece) 

Boxes  for  Nests 12 

Fowl  House,  6X6  feet,  Elevation  and  Plan 14 

Hen  Coops 20 

Coop  for  Fattening  Fowls . .  22 

White  Dorking  Cock,  Single  Combed 42 

Foot  of  Dorking  Cock 43 

Foot  of  Dorking  Pullet 43 

Grey  Dorking  Cock  and  Hen,  Rose  Combed 44 

Black  Spanish  Cock i 50 

Black  Spanish  Cock,  Head  of 51 

Black  Spanish  Hen    52 

Black-breasted  Red  Game  Cock 55 

Malay  Cock 60 

Cochin  China  Cock  and  Hen 63 

Poland  Fowls— Silver  Spangled  and  Black 69 

Group  of  Bantam  Fowls 72 

Group  of  French  Fowls 76 

Head  of  Houdan  Cock.  77 

Crevecceur  Cock 78 

Combs  of  CreveccBur  Cock , 79 

Comb  of  La  Fleche 80 

Bronze  Turkey  Gobbler 82 

Bronze  Hen  Turkey 84 

Toulouse  Geese 89 

Bremen  or  Embden  Geese 91 

Pair  of  Rouen  Ducks 101 

Illustration  of  Terms H' 


DOMESTIC  POULTRY; 

HOW    TO    REAR   AND    FATTEN. 


ORIGIN   OP   OUR   DOMESTIC    FOWLS. 

The  common  fowl  is  generally  supposed  to  be  of  Indian 
origin,  and  nothing  can  be  learned  respecting  their  ances- 
try until  within  a  comparatively  recent  epoch.  Nobody 
really  knows  the  earliest  date  of  their  domesticity.  Some 
suppose  it  must  have  been  coeval  with  the  keeping  of 
sheep  by  Abel,  which  view  has  a  reasonable  amount  of 
probability,  as  the  oldest  son  of  Japhet  was  called  Gomer, 
signifying  a  cock.  «Aristotle,  350  years  before  Christ, 
speaks  of  them  familiarly  as  "household  words."  Among 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  the  fowl  early  figured  in  the 
public  shows.  It  was  dedicated  to  Apollo,  to  Mercury, 
to  ^sculapius,  and  to  Mars,  and  its  courage  and  watch- 
fulness were  well  appreciated.  The  Rhodian  fowls  and 
those  of  Delos,  Medea  and  Persia  were  celebrated  for 
their  superiority  in  fighting,  and  for  the  excellency  and 
delicacy  of  their  flesh.  Cock-fighting  was  a  diversion  in 
consonance  with  the  tastes  of  the  Romans,  and  they  were 
as  much  devoted  to  it  as  are  the  Malays  of  the  present 
day,  who  frequently  stake  their  all  upon  the  issue  of  a 
single  battle.  When  the  Romans,  under  Julius  Caesar, 
invaded  Britain,  they  found  the  fowl  and  goose  domes- 
ticated, but  these,  as  also  the  hare,  were  forbidden  as  food, 
1* 


10  DOMESTIC   POULTET. 

They  are,  in  fact,  one  of  man's  oldest,  and  most  important 
acquisitions ;  passing  from  generation  to  generation  for 
thousands  of  years,  and  branching  out  into  so  many  varie- 
ties that  every  breeder  will  find  a  peculiarity  in  some  of 
them  to  please  his  fancy.  It  is  only  on  the  most  valued 
varieties  I  mean  to  dwell,  giving  brief  and  explanatory 
statements  of  their  origin,  their  peculiarities  of  plumage, 
points  and  form,  and  of  the  tests  for  purity  of  blood. 


POULTRY    HOUSES. 

It  is  only  of  late  years  that  poultry-houses  have  been 
much  thought  of.  In  large  fannyards,  where  there  are 
cart-houses,  calf-pens,  pig-styes,  cattle-sheds,  shelter  under 
the  eaves  of  barns,  and  numerous  other  roosting  places, 
not  omitting  the  trees  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  I  do  not 
think  they  are  required,  for  fowls  will  generally  do  better 
by  choosing  for  themselves ;  and  it  is,  beyond  a  doubt, 
more  healthy  for  them  to  be  sjDread  about  in  this  manner 
than  to  be  confined  to  one  place.  But  a  love  of  order  on 
the  one  hand,  and  a  dread  of  thieves,  foxes,  or  skunks  on 
the  other,  will  usually  make  it  desirable  to  have  a  pro- 
per poultry-house. 

The  exterior  is  a  matter  of  taste ;  but  internally,  the 
comfort  and  well-doing  of  the  poultry  must  be  the  only 
consideration,  and  the  higher  the  house  is,  the  less  likeU- 
hood  there  is  of  disease  or  taint.  Another  advantage  of 
having  it  lofty  is,  that  the  currents  of  air  through  the  build- 
ing, being  far  above  the  fowls,  purify  the  air  without 
interfering  with  their  comfort.  They  do  not  like  a  draught, 
and  if,  while  they  are  perching,  an  opening  is  made  admit- 
ting one,  they  will  be  seen  to  rouse  up  to  alter  their  posi- 
tion, and  at  last  to  seek  some  other  place  to  avoid  it. 


■._z«^»r.'#" 


POULTRY   HOUSES.  11 

The  best  guide  in  all  these  things  is  nature,  and  an  ob- 
server wUl  always  find  that  poultry  choose  a  sheltered  spot. 
They  also  carefully  avoid  being  exposed  to  cold  winds. 
The  poultry-house  should  not  open  to  the  North  or  East. 
The  perches  should  not  be  more  than  twenty-four  inches 
from  the  ground.  None  are  better  than  fir  or  sassafras 
poles,  about  fourteen  inches  in  circumference,  sawn  in  half 
in  the  center.  They  should  be  supported  on  ledges,  fast- 
ened to  each  side  of  the  house.  This  affords  every  facility  | 
for  removing  them  for  purposes  of  cleaning,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  is  very  simple.  All  perches  should  be  on  the 
same  level,  none  higher  than  the  other. 

My  reason  for  being  thus  particular  in  ray  description  of 
the  perch  is,  that  to  mistakes  in  its  construction  and  posi- 
tion many  disorders  in  the  feet  of  fowls  may  be  attributed. 
For  instance,  it  has  been  complained  that  large  fowls  be- 
came lame,  and  what  we  term  bumble-footed,  more  especi- 
ally when  carefully  kept  in  poultry-houses.  Now,  the  rea- 
son for  it  is  obvious — their  perches  are  too  high.  In  the 
morning  the  cock  flies  from  the  perch  eight  to  twelve  feet 
high ;  the  whole  weight  of  his  body,  added  to  the  impulse 
of  his  downward  flight,  brings  him  in  contact  with  the 
ground.  Often,  from  the  violence  of  his  fall,  small  stones 
are  forced  through  the  skin  of  the  balls  of  the  feet.  They 
fester,  and  if  that  does  not  occur,  they  become  so  tender 
that  the  bird  dare  no  longer  perch:  he  roosts  on  the 
ground,  and,  for  want  of  the  necessary  exercise,  his  legs 
swell,  at  the  knees,  and  he  becomes  a  sleepy,  useless  fowl. 
This  will  be  avoided  by  having  low  perches.  Some  well- 
informed  authorities  deem  high  perches  of  no  consequence, 
provided  the  fowls  have  a  plank  with  cross-pieces  reaching 
them  from  the  ground.  But  I  beUeve  these  are  only  used 
to  ascend;  the  descent  is  generally  done  by  flight. 

It  is  very  necessary  the  house  should  be  well  ventilated ; 
it  may  be  done  either  by  an  iron  grating  or  an  omissior 


12  DOMESTIC   POULTEY. 

of  bricks  in  the  building,  but  the  ventilators  should  be 
considerably  above  the  perches,  and  in  severe  weather  may 
be  entirely  closed.  It  is  an  improvement  to  have  a  ceiling 
to  the  house  ;  a  very  slight  and  common  one  will  do,  and 
it  is  not  absolutely  necessary.  The  house  should  be  often 
cleaned  out,  and  the  walls  whitewashed.  The  floor  should 
be  of  earth,  well  rammed  down  and  covered  with  loose 
gravel  two  inches  deep.  This  is  easily  kept  clean  by  draw- 
ing a  broom  lightly  over  it  every  morning,  and  if  it  is 
raked,  it  is  kept  even  and  fresh.  There  should  be  an  open- 
ing towards  the  West  or  South  for  the  fowls  to  go  in  and 
out ;  and  this  should  never  be  closed,  as  fowls  are  fond  of 
rambling  early  in  the  morning,  and  picking  up  such  food 
as  is  to  be  found  at  break  of  day. 

It  should  not  be  allowed  that  any  poultry  roost  in  the 
house  but  fowl — no  ducks,  turkeys,  geese,  or  any  other  sort. 
Neither  may  there  be  too  many  fowls,  lest  the  house  be- 
come tainted  and  the  birds  sickly. 

The  poultiy -house  should  have  three  compartments; 
one,  the  largest,  for  roosting,  another  for  laying,  and 
another  for  sitting  ;  though,  if  it  is  desired  to  curtail  the 
accommodations,  two  compartments  might  suffice — that  is, 
one  for  roosting  and  laying,  and  the  other  for  hatching — 
taking  care,  however,  that  the 
nests  for  laying  are  not  in  too 
close  proximity  to  the  roosting- 
poles.  In  both  the  laying  and 
Fig.  1.— BOXES.  sitting  rooms,  boxes  (as  in  fig.  1) 

should  be  placed  against  the  side  of  the  house,  on  the  floor ; 
aU  that  is  required  is  to  fasten  up  boards  against  the  wall, 
each  being  twenty  inches  high,  the  same  length,  and 
eighteen  inches  apart.  This  affords  the  hen  aU  the  privacy 
she  requires.  About  eighteen  inches  from  the  wall  a 
wooden  head  should  be  put,  just  high  enough  to  prevent 
the  eggs  from  rolling  out. 


PODXTRY   HOUSES.  13 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention,  that,  as  no  hen 
should  be  allowed  to  lay  where  the  others  are  sitting — and 
difficulty  maybe  experienced  with  some,  from  their  almost 
unconquerable  repugnance  to  sit  anywhere  but  Avhere  they 
have  been  laying.  It  may  be  stopped  in  this  way :  move 
the  hen  and  her  eggs  at  night  into  the  sitting-house,  and 
cover  her  until  morning,  by  hanging  sacks,  or  old  carpets, 
or  matting  over  the  boards  forming  her  sitting-place,  and 
she  will  remain  quiet  and  satisfied. 

The  door  of  the  sitting-house  should  always  be  shut 
when  hens  are  on  their  eggs,  and  it  should,  therefore,  have 
a  window,  to  open  in  the  summer,  but  to  shut  quite  close 
in  the  winter.  When  the  window  is,  however,  open,  a 
wire  frame  or  piece  of  lattice-work,  should  supply  its 
place,  to  prevent  laying  hens  from  intruding. 

There  is  one  addition  to  a  poultry-yard  so  advantageous 
to  chickens  that  those  who  have  once  tried  it  will  never 
be  without  it.  I  mean  a  covered  run  for  them,  to  be  used 
in  wet  weather.  Any  sort  of  roof  will  do,  and  it  should 
be  in  a  sheltered  spot,  running  the  length  of  the  yard,  and 
projecting  six  to  twelve  feet  from  the  wall  or  close 
fence  against  which  it  is  placed.  It  should  be  exposed  to 
the  sun,  and  sheltered  from  cold  winds.  The  floor  should 
be  raised  above  the  level  of  the  yard,  and  covered  with 
sand  and  wood  ashes,  some  inches  deep.  The  hens  with 
chickens  may  be  put  here  under  their  coops,  in  wet  or 
Btonny  weather,  and  it  affords  at  all  times  a  favorite  resort 
for  poultry  to  bask  and  take  their  dust-bath,  which  is 
essential  to  their  well-doing.  The  flooring  should  be 
higher  at  the  back  than  the  front. 

There  is  nothing  better  for  the  bottom  of  a  nest  than  a 
Bod  of  grass.  On  this  should  be  placed  straw.  A  nest  so 
made  is  healthier  for  the  hen  and  chickens,  as  it  admits  of 
sufficient  ventilation,  and  is  always  free  from  vermin. 

It  is  essential  both  doors  and  windows  of  roostinsr- 


14 


DOMESTIC   POTTLTEY. 


places  should  be  open  during  the  day  for  the  purpose  of 
ventilation.  The  floor  should  slant  every  way  towards  the 
door,  to  facilitate  the  cleaning,  and  to  avoid  anything  like 

wet.  It  should  be 
well  cleaned  every 
day,  and  it  should  be 
raised  above  the  lev- 
el of  the  surrounding 
ground ;  it  should 
have  no  artificial 
floor,  such  as  boards, 
bricks,  tiles,or  stones 
of  any  kind,  but 
should  be  of  good 
hard  earth  and  loose 
Fi<j.  2.-F0WL  HOUSE,  6x6,  gravel— not  disposed 

a.  Boor;  b.  Ventilators;  c,  Brackets;  d,  Entrance,     ^q  Kg  muddv  from  itS 

occupants  going  in  and  out  in  wet  weather.  It  should 
open  on  ground  perfectly  free  for  the  poultry  to  run  in ; 
and  if  a  high  dry  spot  on  light  soil  can  be  chosen,  so  much 
the  better.  The  roof  should  be  quite  air  and  water  tight. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  build  expensive  houses.  I  keep 
a  cock  and  five  hens  in  a  wooden  house.  (See  fig.  2.)  It 
is  seven  feet  high  in  the 
centre,  six  feet  square  in- 
side, and  is  planned  as  in 
fig.  3.  Such  a  house  will 
cost,  being  made  of  pine 
wood,  about  fifteen  dollars, 
and  will  last  many  years. 
It  is  portable,  by  passing 
poles  through  the  brackets, 
(c,  c.  Fig.  2)  on  each  side. 
It  has  no  floor.     A  coating 


6'xe 


^^-A,K!i.■iV,XklXlKii^-^a^iiMi.■^il^Jli^^w  '■•.'-rs^. 


Fi^.  3.— PLAN. 
a.  Door;  b.  Laying  Boxes;  c.  Perch. 

of  tar  or  paint  will  prevent  the  boards  from  splitting. 


FEEDING   OP   POTJLTET.  16 


FEEDING    OF    POULTRY. 

It  is  difficult  to  assign  any  portion  of  food  as  a  sufficient 
^aantity  for  a  given  number  of  fowls,  because  so  much  de- 
pends on  the  nature  of  their  run,  and  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  food  to  be  found.  For  instance  :  in  a  farmyard 
where  the  barn-door  is  always  open,  and  operations  scat- 
tering grain  and  hay  seed  continually  going  on,  adult  birds 
require  little  or  no  feeding ;  but  If  the  supply  be  stopped, 
then  they  must  be  fed  by  hand. 

A  good  healthy  growing  fowl  will  consume,  weekly, 
two-thirds  of  a  gallon  of  corn  or  wheat ;  and  if  the  bird 
come  from  a  yard  where  it  has  been  but  poorly  fed,  it  will, 
for  a  time,  eat  more  than  this ;  but  after  it  has  got  up  in 
flesh  and  condition,  it  gradually  eats  less,  and  two-thirds, 
or  even  half  the  quantity,  will  keep  it  in  good  condition. 
Again  :  the  weather  must  be  considered ;  in  mild,  damp 
weather  they  prowl  about  and  pick  up  many  things — as 
insects,  worms,  young  herbage.  These  all  assist ;  but  in 
frosty — and,  above  all,  in  snowy  weather — they  require 
generous  feeding. 

Do  not  spare  good  food  for  chickens;  they  require 
plenty  while  they  are  growing,  and  they  wiU  make  a  good 
return  in  health  and  vigor,  when  arriving  at  maturity. 
Those  who  are  obhged  to  keep  fowls  in  confinement,  should 
have  large  sods  of  grass  cut,  and  let  the  earth  be  heavy 
enough  to  enable  them  to  tear  off  the  grass,  without  being 
obliged  to  drag  the  sod  about  with  them.  Where  there 
is  a  family,  and  consequent  consumption,  there  are  many 
auxiliaries,  such  as  bread  crumbs,  groats  that  have  been 
used  for  gruel,  etc.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
these  are  in  the  place  of  other  food,  and  not  in  addition  to 


16  DOMESTIC   POULTRY. 

it.  When  they  can  be  had,  other  food  should  be  dimin- 
ished. I  am  not  an  advocate  for  cooked  vegetables,  ex- 
cept potatoes.  Boiled  cabbage  is  worse  than  nothing.  In 
fact,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  corn,  either  whole  or 
cracked,  is  the  staple  food,  and  the  others  are  helps.  Do 
not  give  fowls  meat ;  but  always  have  the  bones  thrown 
out  to  them  after  dinner ;  they  enjoy  picking  them,  and 
perform  the  operation  perfectly.  Do  not  feed  on  raw 
meat.  It  makes  fowls  quarrelsome,  and  gives  them  a  pro- 
pensity to  pick  each  other — especially  in  moulting  time, 
if  the  accustomed  meat  be  withheld.  Hundreds  have  pur- 
chased birds — above  all.  Cochin  Chinas — on  account  of 
their  great  weight,  which,  being  the  result  of  meat-feeding, 
has  proved  a  real  disease,  incapacitating  them  for  breed- 
ing. When  proper  food  is  provided,  all  is  not  accom- 
plished ;  it  must  be  properly  given.  No  plan  is  so  extrav- 
agant, or  so  injurious,  as  to  throw  down  heaps  once  or 
twice  a  day.  They  should  have  it  scattered  as  far  and 
wide  as  possible,  that  the  birds  may  be  long  and  healthily 
employed  in  finding  it,  and  may  not  accomplish  in  a  few 
minutes  that  which  should  occupy  them  for  hours.  For 
this  reason,  every  sort  of  feeder  or  hopper  is  bad.  It  is 
the  nature  of  fowls  to  take  a  grain  at  a  time,  and  to  pick 
grass  and  dh-t  with  it,  which  assist  digestion ;  but  if,  con- 
trary to  this,  they  are  enabled  to  eat  corn  by  mouthfuls, 
their  crops  are  soon  overfilled,  and  they  seek  relief  in  ex- 
cessive draughts  of  water.  Nothing  is  more  injurious  than 
this  ;  and  the  inactivity  that  attends  the  discomfort  caused 
by  it,  lays  the  foundation  of  many  disorders.  While  speak- 
ing of  food,  it  may  be  observed,  that  when,  from  traveling 
or  other  cause,  a  fowl  has  fasted  a  long  time,  say  thirty 
or  forty- eight  hours,  it  should  not  have  any  hard  food, 
neither  should  it  have  water  at  discretion.  For  the  first 
three  hours  it  should  only  have  a  small  portion — say  a  tea- 
cupful  of  sopped  bread,  very  wet ;  so  much  so,  as  to  serve 


FEEDING   OF   POULTRY.  17 

for  food  and  drink.  If  the  bird  appear  to  suffer  much  from 
the  journey,  instead  of  bread  and  Avater,  give  bread  and  ale. 
Btit  the  food  given  them  by  hand  is  not  all  that  is  essen- 
tial. There  is  the  natural  food,  sought  out  and  divided  by 
the  hen  to  her  progeny — such  as  insects  of  all  kinds, 
peculiar  herbage,  etc.  And  it  is  here  well  to  remark,  that 
where  fowls  are  bred  for  exhibition  or  other  special  pur- 
poses— as  cocks  for  fighting — a  hen  should  not  be  allowed 
to  rear  more  than  six  chickens,  as  she  can  not  find  this  food 
for  a  greater  number ;  and  if  they  are  intended  to  be  supe- 
rior to  all  others,  they  must  have  greater,  or  at  least  equal 
advantages  with  those  they  will  have  to  compete  against. 
In  most  poultry-yards  more  than  half  the  food  is  wasted. 
The  same  quantity  is  thrown  down  day  after  day,  without 
reference  to  the  time  of  year,  alteration  of  numbers,  or  va- 
riation of  appetite  ;  and  that  which  is  not  eaten,  is  trodden 
about,  or  taken  by  small  birds.  Many  a  poultry-yard  is 
coated  with  corn  and  meal.  As  it  is  essential  fowls  should 
have  fresh-mixed  food,  a  careful  poultry-feeder  will  always 
rather  mix  twice,  than  have  any  left ;  and  it  is  often  bene- 
ficial for  the  birds  to  have  a  scanty  meal.  They  can  find 
numerous  things  wherewith  to  eke  out,  and  things  that  are 
beneficial  to  them ;  but  if  they  are  kept  constantly  full, 
they  will  not  seek  them.  The  advantage  of  scattering  the 
food  is,  that  all  then  get  their  share ;  while  if  it  is  thrown 
only  on  a  small  spaee,  the  master-birds  get  the  greater 
part,  while  the  others  wait  around. 

Many  have  been  discouraged,  and  some  deterred  from 
keeping  fowls,  by  the  expense  of  feeding.  If  they  will 
themselves  attend  to  the  consumption  for  a  week,  and  fol- 
low the  method  I  have  pointed  out,  they  may  arrive  at  a 
fair  average  ;  and  they  will  be  surprised  to  find  how  much 
greater  the  cost  has  been  than  was  necessary.  It  is  most 
essential  not  to  invent  or  to  supply  imaginary  wants  m 
fowls.     They  do  not  require  coaxing  to  eat ;  and  wher€',veJ* 


18  DOMESTIC   POtTLTET. 

food  can  be  seen  lying  on  the  ground  in  the  yard,  there  is 
waste  and  mismanagement.  The  economy  is  not  in  the 
food  alone.  They  are  large  gainers  in  health,  aniJ  th* 
pleasure  of  keeping  is  much  increased.  The  tendency  oi 
over-feeding  is  to  make  them  squat  about  under  sheds  and 
cart-houses ;  and  instead  of  spreading  over  a  meadow  or 
stubble  in  little  active  parties,  searching  hedges  and  banks, 
and  basking  on  their  sides  in  the  dust,  with  opened  feathers 
and  one  wing  raised  to  get  all  the  glorious  sun's  heat  they 
can — they  stand  about,  a  listless,  pampered  group.  To  lay 
much  better,  to  breed  better  chickens,  and  to  last  longer, 
are  the  results  of  diminished,  not  increased  expense  in 
feeding ;  and  all  that  is  required  is  a  little  personal  super- 
intendence at  first,  till  the  new  system  is  understood  and 
appreciated.  In  most  yards  the  birds  are  overfed,  and 
there  is  waste  in  nearly  all. 

It  is  common  with  those  who  undertake  to  write 
upon  poultry  to  be  asked:  What  is  the  food  to  make 
fowls  lay  ?  High  feeding  of  any  sort  will  do  it,  but  par- 
ticularly with  hemp  seed,  scrap-cake,  liver,  or  any  meat 
chopped  fine.  The  scrap-cake,  after  chopping,  should 
be  put  in  a  bucket,  and  covered  with  boiling  water. 
The  mouth  of  the  bucket  should  be  covered  with  a  double 
sack,  or  other  cloth,  so  completely,  as  to  exclude  air,  and 
confine  the  steam  till  the  greaves  are  thoroughly  softened. 
When  they  are  nearly  cold  they  may  be  given.  These  will 
make  them  lay,  but  it  is  only  for  a  time ;  premature  de- 
crepitude comes  on,  and  disease  in  many  forms  appears. 
The  most  common  is  dropsy,  and  of  an  incurable  charac- 
ter. The  fowl  that  would  have  laid  for  years,  in  the  com 
mon  course  of  nature,  being  forced  to  produce  in  two  that 
which  should  have  been  the  work  of  several,  loses  all 
beauty  and  usefulness  ;  and  yet  it  is  often  considered  mat- 
ter of  wonder  that  the  most  prolific  hen  in  the  yard  should 
suddenly  become  barren. 


BBKEDING  AND  MANAGEMENT  OF   CHICKENS.       19 


BREEDING    AND    MANAGEMENT    OF 
CHICKENS. 

However  reluctant  those  concerned  with  poultry  may 
be  to  acknowledge  the  fact,  it  is  not  the  less  true  that 
most  old  women  who  live  in  cottages  know  better  how  to 
rear  chickens  than  any  other  persons  ;  they  are  more  suc- 
cessful, and  it  may  be  traced  to  the  fact  thai  they  keep 
out  few  fowls,  that  these  fowls  are  allowed  to  run  freely 
in  the  house,  to  roll  in  the  ashes,  to  approach  the  fire,  and 
to  pick  up  any  crumbs  or  eatable  morsels  they  find  on  the 
ground,  and  are  nursed  with  the  greatest  care  and  indul- 
gence. 

The  first  consideration  is  the  breeding-stock,  and  I  would 
advise,  in  an  ordinary  farm-yard,  to  begin  with  twelve  hens 
and  two  cocks ;  the  latter  should  agree  well  together. 

Too  much  pains  cannot  be  taken  in  selecting  the  breed- 
ing-fowls ;  the  presence  of  all  the  characteristics  of  the 
various  breeds,  as  described  in  the  following  chapters, 
should  be  insisted  on  in  the  purchasing  of  stock. 

Having  the  stock,  the  next  point  will  be  breeding.  I 
am  a  great  advocate  for  choosing  young  birds  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  with  that  view  would  advise  that  perfect  early 
pullets  be  selected  every  year  for  stock  the  following  sea- 
son, and  put  with  two-year-old  cocks  :  for  instance,  pullets 
hatched  in  May  attain  their  growth  and  become  perfect  in 
shape,  size  and  health  before  the  chiUs  of  winter.  They 
should  be  put  with  cocks  of  two  years  old,  when  they  will 
lay  on  the  first  appearance  of  mild  weather,  and  their  pro- 
duce has  the  same  advantage  as  these  have  had  before 
them.  I  do  not  advocate  having  young  stock-fowl  so  much 
on  account  of  their  laying  early,  as  I  do  for  the  superiority 


20 


DOMESTIC   POULTRY. 


of  their  breeding.  Neither  is  it  desirable  to  breed  from 
fowls  of  all  the  same  age.  K  it  can  be  done,  it  is  better 
to  put  a  two-year-old  cock  with  pullets,  and  vice  versa. 

It  is  well  to  introduce  fresh  cocks  of  pure  breed  into  the 
yard  every  second  year ;  this  prevents  degeneracy,  and  for 
the  same  reason  no  cock  should  be  kept  more  than  three 
seasons,  nor  hen  more  than  four,  if  it  is  intended  to  keep 
them  in  the  highest  possible  perfection  and  efficiency. 

Of  hatching  I  will  say  but  very  little,  as  the  hen  will  do 
that  naturally,  and  consequently  well.  An  ordinary  sized 
hen  will  cover  thirteen  eggs.  All  nests  should  be  on  the 
ground.  Eggs  for  hatching  should  not  be  purchased  till  a 
hen  is  ready  to  sit.  For  seven  or  eight  days  before  hatch- 
ing, the  eggs  should  be  sprinkled  with  cold  water  while 
the  hen  is  off.  This  will  prevent  the  frequent  complaint 
that  the  chicken  was  dead  in  the  shell. 

I  give,  herewith,  (Fig.  4,)  a  sketch  of  the  best  coop  I 
have  yet  found  for  hen  and 
chickens.  Its  dimensions 
should  be  twenty-four 
inches  high  in  front, 
eighteen  wide  in  front,  and 
twenty-four  in  depth.  It 
should  be  close  every- 
where but  in  the  front. 
That  should  be  made  of 
bars,  and  the  three  centre  ^'=-  4.— nEii  coop. 

ones  should  lift  up  bV  means  of  cross  pieces.  It  must  not 
have  a  bottom.  The  hen  should  be  kept  in  the  coop,  or  rath- 
er under  it,  at  least  six  weeks,  and  in  the  winter  the  longer 
she  is  under  the  better.  The  coops  should  be  often  mov- 
ed, as  it  prevents  the  ground  from  becoming  tainted. 

It  is  too  often  presumed  that  little  care  is  required  as  to 
the  feeding  of  poultry  from  the  time  they  leave  the  coop 
until  the  time  they  are  put  up  for  fattening.     They  aie 


BBEEDING   AND   MANAGEMENT   OF   CHICKENS.       21 

allowed  the  run  of  the  yard,  without  considering  what  a 
precarious  subsistence  this  affords.  There  may  be  abun- 
dance of  food  at  some  periods,  and  little  or  none  at  others. 
They  should  be  fed  regularly,  and  care  should  be  taken 
that  each  of  them  (for  they  are  all  brought  up  either  for 
the  table  or  stock)  shall  have  a  fair  share. 

For  chickens,  I  would  recommend  for  the  first  week 
after  hatching,  a  hard-boiled  egg  to  be  given,  chopped  fine 
at  least  twice  a  day,  wheat  steeped  in  milk,  and  coarse 
Indian  meal,  bread-crumbs,  canary  and  millet  seed,  etc.,  etc. 
A  change  of  food  is  not  only  advantageous,  but  necessary, 
and  I  would  advise  that  twice  per  week  the  food  be 
changed,  substituting  cracked  corn  for  wheat.  They  must 
also  have  constant  opportunities  of  picking  among  grass 
and  other  herbs.  They  should  only  be  fed  so  long  as  they 
will  run  after  their  food ;  as  soon  as  they  are  careless  about 
it,  they  have  enough.  Fowls  in  confinement  will  pine  to 
death  with  heaps  of  corn  around  them,  unless  they  have 
these  opportunities. 

As  the  chickens  get  older  they  will  require  feeding  less 
often,  but  they  must  never  be  allowed  to  fall  off  in  condi- 
tion, and  after  from  ten  or  twelve  weeks  in  the  summer, 
or  from  fourteen  to  eighteen  in  the  winter,  they  will  be 
ready  to  fatten,  if  required. 

Next,  as  to  water.  It  is  too  njuch  the  idea  that  any 
description  wUl  do,  and  that  provided  there  be  some 
within  their  reach,  though  it  have  been  standing  a  week, 
nothing  more  is  required.  This  is  a  mistake.  Water  for 
fowls  and  chickens  should  be  very  clean ;  the  vessel  con- 
taining it  should  be  well  rinsed  out  every  morning ;  it  is  a 
good  plan  to  put  a  little  gravel  at  the  bottom,  and  it 
should  be  changed  twice  a  day.  I  am  aware,  many  will 
be  disposed  to  think  this  unnecessary ;  but  I  will  ask  any 
one  who  has  the  opportunity  to  try  whether,  where  there 
is  a  stream  of  water  running  through  a  yard,  they  can 


22 


DOMESTIC  POULTBT. 


cause  the  poultry  to  forsake  it  by  placing  water  nearer  to 
their  haunts  ;  it  will  always  be  found  they  prefer  going  to 
the  stream,  to  drinking  out  of  the  pan  or  tub. 

There  is  little  doubt  many  of  the  diseases  of  poultry 
arise  from  the  filthy  water  they  are  often  obliged  to  drink 
from  ponds  full  of  decayed  vegetable  matter,  and  tainted 
by  the  fall  of  leaves  in  autumn  from  overhanging  trees 


FATTENING    QT    POULTRY. 


There  are  two  methods  of  fattening ;  one  is  by  feeding 
in  troughs,  smother  by  cramming.  When  merely  a 
good  useful  fowl 
is  required,  the 
first  process 
will  suffice;  but, 
when  it  is  wish- 
ed to  make  a 
fowl  of  extra- 
ordinary fat- 
ness, such  a 
coop  or  pen  as 
I  shall  endeavor 
to  describe  will 
be  required.  It 
is  represented  in 
the  accompany- 
ing sketch.  —COOP  fob  fattening  fowls. 

A  coop  for  twelve  fowls  should  be  twenty-four  inches 
high,  three  feet  long,  and  twenty-two  inches  deep;  it 
should  stand  about  two  feet  from  the  ground,  the  front 


FATTENING    OF   POULTEY.  23 

made  of  bars  about  three  inches  apart,  the  bottom  also 
made  of  bars  about  an  inch  and  a  half  apart,  to  insure 
cleanhness,  and  made  to  run  the  length  of  the  coop,  so  that 
the  fowl  constantly  stands,  when  feeding  or  resting,  in  the 
positition  of  perching.  The  sides,  back  and  top,  indeed 
the  whole  of  the  coop  should  be  made  of  bars,  as  in  the 
sketch.  The  bars  of  which  it  is  made  should  be  an  inch 
and  a  half  wide.  Some  people  make  them  round,  and  I 
am  not  sure  they  are  not  preferable  to  flat  ones.  Fatten- 
ing fowls  do  not  require  much  room.  Exercise  is  not 
favorable  to  the  process,  and  it  is,  therefore,  important 
that  the  room  given  to  each  bird  should  be  only  so  much 
as  will  enable  it  to  stand  up  or  sit  in  tolerable  comfort. 
For  this  reason  there  are  two  slides  to  the  coop.  These 
not  only  make  the  task  of  catching  the  fowls  much  easier, 
but  they  are  very  useful  when  the  coop  is  wanted  for  a 
smaller  number  of  birds.  If  only  four  are  reqmred,  and 
they  have  the  same  space  allowed  to  them  as  to  twelve, 
they  will  make  little '  progress.  It  is  therefore  necessary 
to  have  a  board  or  division  made,  which,  by  passing  be- 
tween the  bars  from  front  to  back,  will  make  a  coop  of  the 
size  required.  There  should  be  a  trough  made  in  front  of 
the  coop,  and  I  much  prefer  it  wedge-shaped  to  the  square 
ones  generally  in  use.  It  is  much  easier  to  clean.  The 
coop  only  requires  in  addition  a  flat  board  running  along 
in  front,  having  a  groove  cut  in  it  to  receive  the  bottom 
of  the  trough,  and  an  upright  piece  at  the  edge  to  support 
it.  The  trough  must  be  easily  movable,  which  is  necessary, 
as  it  must  be  scalded  once  every  day  to  keep  it  sweet. 

This  trough  must  be  filled  three  times  a  day  Avith  food, 
the  quantity  being  regulated  by  the  number  of  fowls  fat- 
tening ;  the  food  should  be  coarse  meal,  mixed  slack,  but 
not  quite  liquid,  the  consistence  being  such  that  if  some 
of  it  were  placed  on  the  flat  board  in  front  of  the  coop, 
although  it  would  spread,  it  would  not  run  ofi".    'It  may  be 


24  DOMESTIC   POULTEY. 

mixed  with  water,  but  milk  is  much  better ;  in  fact,  it 
should  always  be  borne  in  mind  the  food  cannot  be  too 
good  or  too  clean.  It  is  also  essentially  necessary  that 
sound  discretion  be  used  in  the  quantity  of  food  given. 
No  more  should  be  given  than  is  eaten  up  clean  at  a  time, 
and  at  every  meal  it  should  be  fresh-mixed  food.  When' 
the  time  arrives  for  the  mid-day  feed,  if  there  remains  any 
uneaten  in  the  trough  fi'om  the  morning,  it  is  proof  either 
that  too  much  was  given  before,  or  that  the  fowls  are  sick. 
If  the  first,  let  them  fast'  till  evening  ;  if  the  second,  alter 
the  character  of  the  food,  by  mixing  it  either  slacker  or 
stiffer ;  but  in  both  cases  the  food  which  has  been  left  must 
be  taken  away,  or  it  will  turn  sour,  and  the  fowls  will  take 
a  distaste  for  it,  which  will  prevent  their  fattening.  There 
should  be  pans  continually  before  them  containing  fresh, 
clean  water ;  and  when  the  troughs  are  removed  for  scald- 
ing," and  while^  they  are  drying,  there  should  be  gravel 
spread  on  the  ledge  before  them;  they  will  pick  out  the 
small  stones  to  assist  digestion,  which  greatly  promotes 
their  health. 

Another  excellent  thing  is  to  cut  a  lot  of  grass  and  place 
it  occasionally  before  them.  No  better  proof  will  be  re- 
quired of  this  being  good  for  them,  than  the  avidity  with 
which  it-will  be  eaten.  All  these  things  assist  health,  and 
for  a  fowl  to  be  good  on  the  table,  it  must  be  healthy  when 
alive.  By  this  process,  a  fowl  put  up  in  good  flesh  and 
condition  will  be  fat  enough  for  ordinary  purposes  in  about 
ten  or  fourteen  days. 

It  will  be  observed,  I  inculcate  the  greatest  cleanUness 
throughout.  Cleanliness  is  one  essential ;  another,  that  the 
fowls  be  fed  early  in  the  morning,  as  soon  as  the  sun  rises, 
for  they  will  be  then  waiting  for  their  food.  K  the  first 
meal  of  a  fowl  is  deferred  till  seven  or  eight  o'clock  on  a 
summer's  day,  the  bird  has  been  hungry,  restless,  and  dis- 
satisfied four  hours,  and  in  that  time  the  progress  made  in 


PATTENINO    OF   PODLTET.  25 

fattening  the  previous  day  has  been  fretted  away.  This 
remark  applies  both  to  picking  and  the  succeeding  method 
of  fattening. 

The  next  process  is  cramming.  The  coop  must  be  pre- 
cisely similar  to  that  used  for  pickers,  with  troughs.  The 
number  of  these  coops  must  depend  on  the  supply  of  fowls 
that  is  required,  as  they  should  not  always  be  in  use,  lest 
they  become  tainted.  They  are  so  inexpensive  and  easily 
made,  it  is  not  worth  while  to  incur  any  risk  of  this  sort ; 
and  after  one  has  been  in  use  for  a  month,  it  is  always  well 
that  it  should  be  washed,  exposed  to  the  air  for  as  long 
time  as  it  can  be  spared,  and  if  lime-whited  (white-washed), 
so  much  the  better. 

The  fowls  for  cramming  are  put  in  this  coop,  and  if 
wanted  very  fat  in  a  short  time,  the  best  of  those  fed  by 
the  former  process  may  be  selected,  and  in  a  week  they 
will  be  very  good ;  but  if  not  in  a  hurry,  then  good  fleshy 
young  fowls  should  be  put  up,  and  fed  as  follows :  but  (in 
this  and  the  former  method)  care  must  be  taken  to  put  up 
fowls  that  have  been  accustomed  to  be  together.  If  strange 
fowls  are  put  in  the  same  coop  they  will  fight,  and  if  so, 
they  will  not  fatten ;  nor  is  that  all,  from  the  continual  ex- 
citement they  will  become  hard.  It  will  sometimes  happen 
that  even  a  pullet  is  quarrelsome ;  if  so,  she  must  be  takec 
from  the  coop  and  kept  separate,  or  she  will  interfere  with 
the  well-doing  of  the  lot.  If  fowls  are  to  thrive,  they  must 
be  warm.  The  heat  and  steam  of  the  birds  should  be  per- 
ceptible to  the  hand  when  it  is  put  in.  For  this  purpose 
they  must  be  clo^  to  each  other,  and  the  coop  should  be 
covered  up  with  old  sacks,  carpet,  matting,  or  anything  of 
that  sort. 

The  food  is  the  same  as  before,  viz.,  coarse  meal  mixed 

with  milk,  the  only  difference  being,  it  is  mixed  stiffer. 

and  it  must  now  retain  the  form  given  to  it ;  if  it  is  wished 

to  make  the  fowls  veiy  fat,  a  little  mutton-suet  may  be 

2 


26  DOMESTIC   POULTBT. 

boiled  in  the  milk  with  which  the  meal  is  slaked.  A  "  cram*' 
should  be  about  the  size  of  a  woman's  finger,  and  an  inch 
and  a  half  long.  Six  or  eight  are  given  morning  and  even- 
ing; that  is  enough  to  fill  the  fowl's  crop.  The  crams 
should  be  rolled  up  as  dry  as  possible,  and  in  order  to 
make  the  swallowing  easy,  previous  to  being  given  they 
should  be  dipped  in  milk.  "Women  perform  this  operation 
better  than  men :  the  fowl  is  placed  in  the  lap,  the  head  is 
held  up,  and  the  beak  kept  open  with  the  thumb  and 
finger,  the  cram  is  introduced  into  the  gullet,  the  beak  is 
then  closed,  and  the  cram  is  gently  assisted  down  till  it 
reaches  the  crop;  care  must  be  taken  not  to  pinch  the 
throat,  as  ulceration  would  foUow,  and  the  fowl  would  be 
spoiled.  If  at  mid-day  the  fowls  appear  restless  and  dis- 
satisfied, a  very  little  food  may  be  given  to  them  in  tlie 
same  way  as  to  those  fed  by  troughs.  They  must  also  be 
well  supplied  with  water  and  gravel. 

It  will  sometimes  happen  that  when  the  time  arrives  for 
the  evening  meal,  that  of  the  moraing  has  not  digested. 
Therefore,  before  the  second  feed  is  given,  the  crop  should 
be  lightly  felt  to  see  if  it  be  empty ;  if  it  is  not,  there  is 
evidence  of  something  wrong.  The  fowl  must  be  taken 
out  immediately,  and  the  beak  being  held  open  as  if  for 
cramming,  some  warm  water  or  gniel  should  be  poured 
down  the  throat,  and  the  beak  closed.  The  bird  will  swal- 
low it,  and  it  will  soften  the  food ;  but  if  more  food  were 
forced  into  the  crop  on  that  already  hardening  there,  the 
fowl  would  become  "  crop-bound  "  ;  that  is,  the  food  would 
become  solid  and  indigestible,  and  the  fowl  would  be  to- 
tally spoiled  for  the  table,  if  it  did  not  die.  By  the  fore- 
poing  process,  a  fowl  may  be  made  perfectly  fat  and  good 
in  fourteen  to  sixteen  days.  There  is  no  necessity  to  feed 
longer,  unless  large  size  be  desired,  when  feeding  may  be 
continued  three  weeks.  I  prefer  the  foriuer  period,  be- 
cause the  fowl  then  is  fat  enough  and  in  perfect  health ; 


FATTENING   OF  POULTRY,  27 

but  frequently  afterwards,  although  it  will  get  fatter  and 
apparently  larger,  it  will  lose  both  weight  and  flesh.  The 
latter  becomes  red  and  dry ;  the  internal  fat  impedes  the 
exercise  of  the  functions  of  digestion ;  and  the  fowl  be- 
comes diseased.  This  is  what  poulterers  call  "  clung,"  and 
arises  from  disease  of  the  liver,  caused  by  excessive  feed 
There  is  no  possible  method  by  which  a  fowl  may  be  kept 
fatting  and  in  perfect  health  after  it  has  reached  the  acme 
of  fatness.  It  must  then  be  kiUed,  or  it  will  become  worth- 
less. "When  put  up  either  for  trough-feeding  or  cramming, 
the  birds  must  be  in  some  sort  of  building,  and  completely 
sheltered  from  cold  and  draughts.  When  the  weather  is 
chilly,  they  should  be  covered  with  sacks  or  matting,  as 
warmth  is  very  essential  in  causing  them  to  thrive.  Atten- 
tion to  these  explicit  details  will  remedy  one  of  the  com- 
plaints urged  against  country  poultry,  viz.,  that  it  is  too  lean. 
Another  objection  urged  is,  that  the  flesh  is  hard.  For 
this  complaint  there  are  two  causes ;  first,  the  poultry  is 
too  old  ;  next,  it  is  eaten  too  fresh.  Fowls  should  be  put 
up  to  fatten  at  from  twelve  to  fourteen  weeks  old  in  the 
summer,  and  from  sixteen  to  twenty  in  the  winter.  The 
difference  is  caused  by  the  fact  that  in  warm  weather  they 
arrive  at  maturity  much  sooner  than  in  cold ;  and  when  a 
fowl  has  arrived  at  maturity  it  is  too  old  for  the  table.  It 
is  a  mistake  to  keep  a  fowl  until  it  is  too  old  for  the  sake 
of  having  it  large.  It  is  true  it  looks  handsome  on  the 
table,  but  it  is  useless  there.  Perhaps  part  of  the  breast 
may  be  eaten,  but  the  legs  are  far  too  hard  to  furnish  any 
delicate  food.  Still,  size  is  much  to  be  desired,  and  it 
can  be  attained  by  following  the  rule  laid  down  for  feed- 
ing chickens  well  from  the  first,  and  the  increase  in  size 
and  weight  during  the  fortnight's  systematic  fattening 
is  almost  incredible  to  those  who  have  never  observed  it. 
But  to  be  tender,  the  fowl  must  be  young.  There  is  no 
process  by  which  an  old  one  can  be  made  good  for  the 


28  DOMESTIC  POULTET. 

table,  and  surely,  though  it  may  be  a  little  smaller,  it  is 
better  to  have  a  good  juicy  fowl,  which  all  will  eat  with 
relish,  than  a  larger  one,  which,  from  its  hardness,  cannot 
be  enjoyed. 

Another  complaint  often  made  is  that,  although  a  good 
fowl  is  to  be  had  sometimes,  there  is  no  certainty.  This 
arises  from  the  fact  that  the  fowls  are  improperly  selected ; 
that  if  six  fowls  are  wanted,  they  will  perhaps  be  taken 
from  six  different  broods.  This  is  very  wrong ;  the  oldest 
brood  should  be  cleared  off  before  the  next  is  taken.  It 
may  be  said  there  is  only  a  difference  of  three  weeks  or  a 
month  between  them ;  but  in  summer  and  autumn  a  month 
turns  the  pullet  into  a  hen,  and  so  unfits  her  for  the  table. 

The  next  cause  for  their  being  hard  is,  they  are  eaten 
too  fresh.  I  use  the  term  fresh  in  a  qualified  sense.  A 
really  young  fowl  does  not  require  keeping  to  become 
tender,  because  it  is  naturally  so  ;  but,  if  eaten  the  day  it 
is  killed,  it  must  be  stringy,  as  every  member  of  the  body 
is  still  rigid.  Forty-eight  hours  will  be  quite  long  enough 
to  keep  such  a  fowl.  But  in  spite  of  all  care,  there  will 
sometimes  be  fowls  beyond  the  age  I  have  specified,  as 
the  proper  time  for  killing ;  and  then,  by  keeping  them 
some  days,  they  will  become  more  tender. 

An  other  veiy  important  point.  If  a  fowl  be  caught  up 
out  of  a  farm-yard,  or  taken  out  of  coop,  full  of  food,  and 
killed  directly,  as  is  too  much  the  custom,  the  food  in  the 
body  and  crop  ferments,  and  at  last  corrupts  the  flesh  ; 
but  if  the  bird  be  fasted — that  is,  kept  entirely  without 
food  or  water  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hours  before  it  is  kil- 
led— it  will  be  found  quite  empty,  and,  in  moderate 
weather,  will  keep  from  four  to  six  days,  during  which 
period  it  becomes  tender.  In  the  winter  it  may  kept 
much  longer. 


DISEASES   OF   FOWLS.  2J> 


DISEASES    OF    FOWLS. 

Among  the  disease  of  fowls,  nothing  is  so  fatal  to  the 
bird,  or  so  vexatious  to  the  fancier,  as  the  Roup.  Very  close 
observation  and  experience  have  taught  me  the  first  pre- 
monitory symptom  is  a  peculiar  breathing.  The  fowl  ap- 
pears in  perfect  health  for  the  time,  but  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  skin  hanging  from  the  lower  beak,  and  to  which  the 
wattle  is  attached,  is  inflated  and  emptied  at  every  breath — 
such  a  bird  should  always  be  removed. 

The  disease  may  be  caused,  first,  by  cold  damp  weather 
and  easterly  winds,  when  fowls  of  weakly  habit  and  bad 
constitution  will  often  sicken,  but  healthy,  strong  birds  will 
not.  Again,  if  by  any  accidental  cause  they  are  long  with- 
out food  and  water,  and  then  have  an  unUmited  quantity 
of  drink  and  whole  corn  given  to  them,  they  gorge  them- 
selves, and  ill  health  is  the  consequence ;  but  confinement 
is  the  chief  cause,  and  above  all  being  shut  up  in  tainted 
coops.  Nothing  is  so  difl5cult  as  to  keep  fowls  healthy  in 
confinement  in  large  cities ;  two  days  will  often  suftice  to 
change  the  bright,  bold  cock  into  the  spiritless,  drooping, 
roupy  fowl,  carrying  contagion  wherever  he  goes. 

But  all  roup  does  not  come  from  cities ;  often  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  the  cocks  fight,  and  it  is  necessary  to 
take  one  away ;  search  is  made  for  something  to  put  h'im 
in,  and  a  rabbit-hutch  or  open  basket  is  found,  wherein  he 
is  confined,  and  often  irregularly  supplied  with  food,  til? 
pity  for  his  altered  condition  causes  him  to  be  let  out;  but 
he  has  become  roupy,  and  the  whole  yard  suffers.  I  dwell 
at  length  on  this,  because  of  all  disorders  it  is  the  worst, 
and  because,  although  a  cure  may  seem  to  be  effected,  yet 
at  moulting,  or  any  time  when  out  of  condition,  the  fowl 


30  DOMESTIC   POUXTKY. 

will  bo  more  or  less  affected  with  it  again.  One  thing  is 
here  deserving  of  notice.  The  result  of  the  attention  paid 
to  poultry  of  late  years  has  been  to  improve  the  health  and 
constitution  of  the  birds.  Roup  is  not  nearly  so  common 
as  it  was,  nor  is  it  so  difficult  of  cure.  It  went  on  unnoticed 
formerly,  till  it  had  become  chronic,  and  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  name  yards  that  have  now  a  good  reputation, 
but  which,  a  few  years  since,  never  had  a  healthy  fowl.  It 
is  now  treated  at  the  outset,  if  seen,  but  the  improved  man- 
agement in  most  places  renders  it  of  rare  occurence.  The 
cold  which  precedes  it  may  often  be  cured,  by  feeding  twice 
a  day  with  stale  crusts  of  bread  soaked  in  strong  ale,  there 
must  be  provided,  warm  dry  housing,  cleanliness,  nutritive 
and  somewhat  stimulating  food  and  medicine.  In  ray  own 
case  I  generally  give  as  medicine  some  tincture  of  iron  in 
the  water  pans  and  some  stimulants.  The  suspected  fowl 
should  be  removed  directly,  and  if  there  be  plenty  without 
it,  and  if  it  be  not  of  any  breed  that  makes  its  preservation 
a  matter  of  moment,  it  should  be  killed.  There  is  very 
little  doubt  of  a  cure  if  taken  in  the  first  stage.  But,  if 
the  eyelids  be  swollen,  the  nostrils  closed,  the  breathing 
difficult,  and  the  discharge  foetid  and  continual,  it  will  be  a 
long  time  before  the  bird  is  well.  In  this  stage  it  may  be 
termed  the  consumption  of  fowls, -and  with  them,  as  in 
human  beings,  most  cases  are  beyond  cure.  However  I 
may  differ  from  some  eminent  and  talented  amateurs,  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  say  it  is  contagious  in  a  high  degree.  Where 
fowls  are  wasting  without  any  apparent  disorder,  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  cod-liver  oil  per  day  will  often  be  found  a  most 
efficacious  remedy. 

I  will  next  mention  a  disease  common  to  chickens 
at  an  early  age — I  mean  the  gapes.  These  are  caused  by 
numerous  small  worms  in  the  throat.  The  best  way  I 
know  of  getting  rid  of  them,  is  to  take  a  hen's  tail-feather, 
strip  it  to  within  an  inch  of  the  end,  put  it  down  the 


DISEASES    OF    FOWLS.  31 

chicken's  windpipe,  twist  it  sharply  round  several  times, 
and  draw  it  quickly  out:  the  worms  will  be  found  entangled 
in  the  feathers.  When  this  is  not  effectual  in  removing 
them,  if  the  tip  of  the  feather  be  dipped  in  turpentine,  it 
will  kill  them,  but  it  must  be  put  down  the  windpipe,  not 
the  gullet.  I  have  always  thought  these  are  got  from  im- 
pure water,  and  I  have  been  informed  by  a  gentleman  who 
inquires  closely  into  those  things,  that  having  placed  some 
of  the  worms  taken  from  the  throat  of  a  chicken,  and  some 
from  the  bottom  of  a  watei'-butt,  where  rain-water  had 
stood  a  long  time,  under  a  microscope,  he  found  them  iden- 
tical. I  have  never  met  with  gapes  where  iowls  had  a 
running  stream  to  drink  at.  Camphor  is  perhaps  the  best 
cure  for  gapes,  and  if  some  is  constantly  kept  in  the 
water  they  drink,  they  take  it  readily.  This  has  been  most 
successful.  There  is  also  another  description  of  gapes, 
arising  probably  from  internal  fever ;  I  have  found  meal 
mixed  with  milk  and  salts  a  good  remedy.  They  are  some- 
times caused  by  a  hard  substance  at  the  tip  of  the  tongue ; 
in  this  case,  remove  it  sharply  with  the  thumb-nail,  and  let 
it  bleed  freely.  A  gentleman  mentioned  this  to  me  who 
had  met  with  it  in  an  old  French  writing  on  poultry. 

Sometimes  a  fowl  will  droop  suddenly,  after  being 
in  perfect  health ;  if  caught  directly,  it  will  be  found  it 
has  eaten  something  that  has  hardened  in  the  crop ;  pour 
plenty  of  warm  watej'  down  the  throat,  and  loosen  the 
food  till  it  is  soft,  then  give  a  tablespoonful  of  castor-oil, 
or  about  as  much  jalap  as  will  lie  on  a  ten  cent  piece, 
mixed  in  butter ;  make  a  pill  of  it  and  slide  it  into  the 
crop  ;  the  fowl  will  be  well  in  the  morning. 

Cayenne  pepper  or  chalk,  or  both  mixed  with  meal,  are 
convenient  and  good  remedies  for  scouring. 

When  fowls  are  restless,  dissatisfied,  and  continually 
scratching,  it  is  often  caused  by  hce ;  these  can  be  got  rid 
of  by  supplying  their  houses  or  haunts  with  plenty  of 


32  DOMESTIC  POULTRY. 

ashes,  especially  wood  ashes,  in  which  they  may  dust 
themselves,  and  the  dust-bath  is  rendered  more  effectual  by 
adding  some  sulphur  to  the  dust.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  all  birds  must  have  the  bath ;  some  use  water,  some 
dust ;  but  both  from  the  same  instinctive  knowledge  of  its 
necessity.  Where  a  shallow  stream  of  water  runs  across  a 
gravel  road,  it  will  be  found  full  of  small  birds  washing ; 
wheie  a  bank  is  dry,  and  well  exposed  to  the  sun,  birds 
of  all  kinds  will  be  found  burying  themselves  in  the  dust. 

Sometimes  fowls  appear  cramped,  they  have  difficulty  in 
standing  upright,  and  rest  on  their  knees ;  in  large  young 
birds,  especially  cocks,  this  is  merely  the  effect  of  weak- 
ness from  fast  growth,  and  the  difficulty  their  long  weak 
legs  have  in  carrying  their  bodies.  But  if  it  lasts  after 
they  are  getting  age,  then  it  must  be  seen  to.  If  their 
roosting-place  has  a  wooden,  stone,  or  brick  floor,  this  is 
probably  the  cause  ;  if  this  is  not  so,  stimulating  food,  such 
as  I  have  described  for  other  diseases,  must  be  given. 

Fowls,  like  human  beings,  are  subject  to  atmospherical 
influence;  and  if  healthy  fowls  seem  suddenly  attacked 
with  illness  that  cannot  be  explained,  a  copious  meal  of 
bread  steeped  in  ale  will  often  prove  a  speedy  and  effectual 
remedy.  For  adults,  nothing  will  restore  strength  sooner 
than  eggs  boiled  hard,  and  chopped  fine.  If  these  remedies 
are  not  successful,  then  the  constitution  is  at  fault,  and 
good  healthy  cocks  must  be  sought  to  replace  those  whose 
progeny  is  faulty. 

"  Prevention  is  better  than  cure."  The  cause  of  many 
diseases  is  to  be  found  in  enfeebled  and  bad  constitutions ; 
and  these  are  the  consequences  of  in-and-in  breeding. 
The  introduction  of  fresh  blood  is  absolutely  necessary 
every  second  year,  and  even  every  year  is  better.  Many 
fanciers  who  breed  for  feather  fear  to  do  so  lest  false  colors 
should  appear,  but  they  should  recollect  that  one  of  the 
first  symptoms  of  degeneracy  is  a  foul  feather ;   for  in- 


DISEASES   OF   FOWLS.  33 

stance,  the  Sebright  bantam  loses  lacing,  and  becomes 
patched,  the  Spanish  fowls  throw  white  feathers,  and 
pigeons  practise  numberless  freaks.  An  experiment  was 
once  tried  which  will  illustrate  this.  A  pair  of  black 
pigeons  was  put  in  a  large  loft,  and  allowed  to  breed  with- 
out any  introduction  of  fresh  blood.  They  were  well  and 
carefully  fed.  At  the  end  of  two  years  an  account  of  them 
was  taken.  They  had  greatly  multiplied,  but  only  one 
tliird  of  the  number  were  black,  and  the  others  had  become 
spotted  with  white,  then  patched,  and  then  quite  white ; 
while  the  latter  had  not  only  lost  the  characteristics  of  the 
breed  from  which  they  descended,  but  were  weak  and  de- 
formed in  every  possible  way.  The  introduction  of  fresh 
blood  prevents  all  this ;  and  the  breeder  for  prizes,  or  who- 
ever wishes  to  have  the  best  of  the  sort  he  keeps,  should  never 
let  a  fowl  escape  hira  if  it  possesses  the  qualities  he  seeks. 
Such  are  not  always  to  be  had  when  wanted,  and  the  best 
strains  we  have,  of  every  sort,  have  been  got  up  by  this 
plan.  There  is  one  thing  Avorthy  of  remark :  none  of  our 
fowls  imported  from  warmer  climates  are  subject  to  roup, 
as  Spanish,  Cochins,  Brahtnas,  and  Malays.  But  those 
from  a  damp  country,  like  Holland,  seem  to  have  seeds  of 
it  always  in  them. 

The  following  tonic  is  highly  recommended  by  Mr.  John 
Douglas  of  the  Wolseley  Aviaries,  England,  to  prevent 
roup  and  gapes  in  chickens  and  old  fowls:  —  "One  pound 
of  sulphate  of  iron,  one  ounce  of  sulphuric  acid  dissolved 
in  a  jug  with  hot  water,  then  let  it  stand  twenty-four 
hours,  and  add  one  gallon  of  spring  water ;  when  fit  for 
use,  one  teaspoonful  to  a  pint  of  water  given  every  other 
day  to  chickens  and  once  a  week  to  old  fowls,  will  make 
roup  and  gapes  entirely  a  stranger  to  your  yards,  ' — 
This  may  be  true  if  perfect  cleanliness  is  maintained  and 
the  fowls  are  in  other  respects  well  treated. 
2* 


34  DOMESTIC  POULTET. 


r>ESII^ABLE      BR,EEI>S. 


BRAHMA-POOTRA    FOWLS. 

(SKK  FEONTISPIECK.) 

The  oi'igiii-of  the  Brahma  fowls  has  been  a  subject  of 
much  contradiction,  but  has  been  assigned  to  the  banks  of 
the  Brahma-putra,  a  river  that  discharges  its  waters  into 
the  Bay  of  Bengal. 

Their  first  appearance,  was  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in 
the  year  1850,  when  three  pairs  were  in  the  possession  of 
a  sailor,  who  sold  them  to  a  meclianic  in  that  city,  who 
again  sold  them  or  their  progeny.  By  some  writers  it  has 
been  contended  that  they  are  nothing  but  gray  Shanghais  ; 
this  can  only  be  attributed  to  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
Shanghai  and  Cochin  breeders  to  put  a  stop  to  the  rapid 
advance  to  favor  made  by  the  Brahmas.  BulTit  is  useless, 
for  they  have  everything  to  recommend  them,  and  their 
lovers  and  admirers  must  be  content  with  the  good  quali- 
ties which  by  universal  consent  are  awarded  to  them,  and 
though  they  appeared  at  a  time  when  people  were  suffer- 
ing from  the  effect  of  the  decline  of  the  Cochin  mania,  they 
held  their  own,  and  have  succeeded  in  formuig  numerous 
and  attractive  classes.  The  Brahma  is  a  large,  heavy  bird, 
symmetrical,  prolific,  and  hardy ;  living  wbere  Shanghais 
would  starve,  growing  in  frost  and  snow  when  hatched  in 
winter  months.  In  speaking  of  various  breeds  of  fowl, 
Mr.  G.  B.  Smith  says:  "As  regards  Brahmas  and  giay 
Shanghai  fowl,  I  think  there  is  a  great  difference  between 
the  two.  I  have  raised  them  for  several  years,  and  great- 
ly prefer  the  Brahmas.    They  lay  a  third  larger  egg  than 


BEAHMA-POOTRA   FOWLS.  35 

the  Shanghai,  and  are  the  best  fowl  for  any  bne  desiring 
eggs  in  the  winter.  Their  eggs  sometimes  weigh  from 
three  to  four  and  a  quarter  ounces  each,  whereas  those  of 
the  Shanghai  seldom  reach  over  two  or  two  and  a  half 
ounces.  The  Brahmas,  I  think,  will  lay  a  greater  weight 
of  eggs  in  a  year  than  any  other  fowls  I  am  acquainted 
with.  I  have  bred  fowls  for  oVer  twenty  years,  and  there 
are  none  I  like  better  than  these," 

That  the  Brahraas  are  a  distinct  breed  I  have  not  the . 
least  doubt,  but  whether  they  come  from  China  or  India  I 
w^ill  not  stop  to  discuss.     It  is  enough  that  they  come 
from  the  East — from  Asia. 

The  deficiency  of  tail  is  the  characteristic  of  all  these 
fowls.  Cochins,  Brahmas,  Malays.  Even  the  Jungle  fowl 
(the  hyaena  for  wildness  of  all  Gallinaceae,  and  one  that  can 
well  be  called  untamable,)  although  the  most  favored  of 
his  country  in  the  way  of  tail,  carries  it  drooping.  That 
the  eggs  are  alike  in  color  cannot  weigh,  because  aU  our 
Asiatic  birds  lay  cream  or  chocolate  colo'red  eggs.  If 
feathered  legs  are  to  prove  their  identity  with  Cochins, 
then  from  that  I  would  deduce  proof  of  their  distinctness. 
Out  of  large  numbers  I  have  bred,  I  have  never  had  a 
clean-legged  chicken.  Mr,  John  Baily,  purveyor  to  the 
Queen  of  England,  says :  "  I  have  imported  and  bred  these 
fowls  for  two  years ;  I  have  watched  them  narrowly,  and 
find  they  differ  in  many  points  from  the  Cochin,  with  which 
they  are  sought  to  be  identified.  They  wander  from  home, 
and  they  will  get  their  own  living ;  they  never  throw  a 
clean-legged  chicken',  they  have  deep  breasts;  they  lay 
larger  eggs,  and  they  are  hardier.  I  have  hatched  them 
in  snow,  and  have  reared  them  out  of  doors  without  any 
otlier  shelter  than  a  piece  of  mat  or  carpet  thrown  over 
the  coop  at  night. 

"  From  any  birds  that  I  have  kept,  I  have  never  had  an 
nntrue  chicken,  all  being  more  or  less  gray.    They  are 


36  DOMESTIC  POULTBT. 

hatched  almost  black  or  yellow,  and  the  dark  get  lighter 
and  the  light  darker.  I  have  never  had  a  clean-legged 
chicken  from  them." 

This  breed  is  much  esteemed  in  England,  as  also  in 
France,  where  it  was  introduced  in  the  year  1853.  Mad- 
ame Millett  Robinet,  authoress  of  Basse-Cour,  writes  in 
the  following  flattering  terms  of  l^lie  Brahmas  :  "  The  cock 
is  full  of  pluck  and  pride ;  he  is  still  more  developed  than 
the  Cochin  China ;  his  feathers  are  also  richer  and  more 
brilliant.  The  Brahma  Pootra  cock,  which  obtained  the 
first  prize  at  the  Universal  Exhibition  in  Paris,  in  1856, 
weighed  10^  pounds,  and  was  sold  for  2,500  francs  ($500). 
Brahmas  are  good  layers,  good  mothers,  flesh  very  abun- 
dant, and  of  a  good  quality." 

Mariot  Didieux,  in  writing  of  Brahma  Pootras,  says: 
"This  race  came  from  India  about  the  year  1850,  but,  as 
with  all  beautiful  races,  speculation  has  taken  hold  of  them. 
A  couple  of  the  pure  race  we  know  was  sold  at  the  enor- 
mous price  of  seventeen  hundred  francs,  (equivalent  to 
$340)." 

The  Brahma  Pootra  is  divided  into  two  varieties,  the 
dark  and  light ;  pea,  and  single  combed ;  the  selection  of 
color  must  be  entirely  a  matter  of  taste.  The  cocks  of  the 
dark  variety  have  a  black  breast  speckled  with  white; 
thighs  black ;  hackle  *  and  saddle  f  light ;  tail  black  and 
spreading  at  the  end ;  yellow  legs,  very  well  feathered ; 
deep  breast,  very  full  hackle.  The  hens  of  this  variety 
have  bodies  pencilled  all  over ;  silver  hackle — that  is, 
pencilled  Uke  the  silver  pheasant — deep  body :  yellow  legs, 
well  feathered ;  pea  or  single  combed.  The  cocks  and 
hens  of  the  light  variety  are  much  aUke  in  plumage,  but 

*  HAlCKLE — The  feathers  growing  from  the  neck  and  covering  the 
shoulders  and  part  of  the  back. 

+  Saddlk  FEATHERS-^Those  feathers  growing  from  the  end  of  the 
aack  and  fallinK  over  the  side. 


BRAHMA-POOTRA    FOWLS.  3T 

the  cock  frequently  less  marked  th.an  the  hen  ;  entirely 
white  plumage,  save  the  tail,  and  flight*  feathers,  which 
sliould  be  black,  and  the  hackle,  which  should  be  black 
striped.  These  should  also  have  well-feathered  yellow 
Isgs,  and  either  pea  or  single  combed  ;  the  under  feathera 
of  these  birds  should  be  dark. 

The  Brahmas  are  the  only  fowls  that  are  pea-combed 
The  pea-comb  has  the  appearance  of  three  combs  pressed 
closely  together,  that  in  the  centre  being  higher  than  the 
others.  Another  thing  worthy  of  remark  is,  that  in  many 
of  the  single  combs,  close  observation  will  show  on  either 
side  the  plain  impression  of  another,  the  evident  remains 
of  that  which  had  been  a  pea-comb,  and  by  in-breeding 
had  disappeared. 

The  Brahma  Pootras  eat  much  less  than  the  Cochins,  and 
are  amongst  the  best  winter-layers  we  have ;  they  rank 
among  the  very  prolific  producers  of  eggs  throughout  the 
year ;  they  seem  to  be  as  hardy  as  it  is  possible  for  fowls  to 
be,  are  good  sitters  and  mothers,  and  good  for  the  table. 

The  Rev.  R.  W.  Fuller,  of  Massachusetts,  says  in  a  let- 
ter to  W.  N.  Andrews,  Esq.,  of  New  Hampshire :  "I  have 
a  pair  of  Brahma  Pootra  fowls,  and  I  consider  them  de- 
cidedly the  most  splendid  and  beautiful  fowls  ever  imported. 
Their  color  is  white,  inclining  on  the  back  to  a  rich  crea'^n 
color,  the  hackles  on  the  neck  slightly  streaked  with  black. 
The  legs  are  yellow,  heavily  feathered  with  white,  and 
shorter  than  the  Chittagong  or  Shanghai,  giving  the  fowls 
a  more  beautiful  proportion.  They  are  very  gentle  and 
peaceable  in  their  disposition,  and  have  a  stately  and  grace- 
ful gait.  Take  them  altogether,  they  are  just  the  fowls  for 
an  amateur  to  fall  in  love  with,  and  such  as  an  owner  with 
one  spark  of  vanity  woul^desire  to  keep  in  the  front  yard, 
that  all  passers-by  might  oehold  and  admire  them." 


*  Flight  Feathers— The  last  five  feathers  of  the  wing. 


38  DOMESTIC   POULTRY. 

An  English  writer  says :  "  So  much  has  been  said  about 
the  Brahma  fowl,  and  such  a  variety  of  opinions  given  as 
to  whether  they  are  a  distinct  breed  or  not,  that  I  will 
venture  to  say  a  little  respecting  them.  That  they  are  a 
distinct  breed  there  is  not  the  least  doubt,  for  long  before 
they  were  imported  into  this  countiy,  a  brother  of  mine, 
who  has  been  much  in  India,  informed  me  of  them,  and 
pointed  out  most  particularly  the  advantages  they  posses- 
sed over  the  Cochins.  I  have  now  several  of  these  birds 
in  my  possession,  both  the  dark  and  the  light  variety. 
Some  months  since  my  brother  visited  me,  and  on  being 
shown  the  birds,  at  once  pronounced  them  to  be  the  same 
as  those  he  had  seen  in  India." 

Dr.  Eben  Wight,  of  Boston,  in  a  letter  speaking  of  the 
Brahma  Pootra  fowls,  remarks :  "A  man  in  Connecticut 
says  he  has  a  pair,  the  same  stock  as  Hatches,  which  he  has 
weighed :  cock  thirteen  pounds ;  hen  nine  pounds  six 
ounces ;  but  he  refuses  to  sell  them.  That  is  a  fine  breed 
of  fowJs  and  must  beat  all  others." 

Mr.  J.  C.  Thomson,  of  Staten  Island,  in  writing  on 
Brahmas,  says :  "  As  the  Brahmas  had  the  reputation  of 
being  very  hardy  and  good  winter-layers,  I  determined  to 
try  them.  In  fact,  the  person  in  Massachusetts  who  fur- 
nished me  with  the  trio,  said  he  had  a  hen,  in  February, 
hatching  a  brood  in  a  cold  wood-house,  when  the  thermo- 
meter was  six  below  zero.  So,  to  try  it  fairly,  I  put  the 
old  trio  in  an  ash-house,  on  the  shady  side  of  the  dwelling, 
so  open  that  daylight  could  be  seen  through  all  the  joints 
of  the  boards  on  the  north  side,  with  the  upper  part  of  the 
west  side  open  lattice  work.  It  was  the  coldest  building  I 
had,  as  no  sun  shone  on  it  through  the  winter.  A  small 
yard  on  the  west  side  of  the  iMpse  gave  them  an  oppor- 
tunity to  occasionally  bask  in  the  sim,  on  the  lee  side  of  a 
boar^  fence.  Ample  food  and  drink,  with  a  little  cabbage, 
was  daily  given — grain  always  within  their  reach.     One 


BEAHMA-POOTEA   FOWLS.  39 

laid  riglit  on  through  the  coldest  weather,  the  eggs  fre- 
quently freezing  in  the  nest.  The  other  was  evidently  a 
very  old  bird,  from  the  fact  that  she  moulted  in  midwinter. 

"The  ten  pullets  had  better  quarters,  and  grew  finely; 
in  March  they  began  to  lay,  and  laid  steadily  all  through 
the  summer.  My  stock  consisted  of  the  three  old  birds, 
one  sprhig  pullet,  and  ten  September- hatched  pullets. 
Finding  they  were  giving  me  an  unusual  number  of  eggs, 
especially  in  June,  when  I  frequently  got  eight,  nine,  ten, 
and  eleven,  and  sometimes  twelve  eggs  a  day,  I  was  in- 
duced to  keep  an  account  for  July  and  August,  when  I 
find  they  have  averaged  six  eggs  per  day — equal  to  2,000 
eggs  per  year.  This  month  I  have  allowed  six  of  them  to 
sit,  the  last  brood  hatching  to-day.  The  experience  of  last 
autumn  satisfies  me  that  they  can  be  grown  Avith  success 
in  the  autumn  and  winter  months,  as  I  am  able  to  give 
them  the  entire  range  of  the  garden ;  they  coming  in  as 
early  layers  in  the  spring,  to  take  the  place  of  early-sitting 
hens.  The  weight  of  the  cocks  runs  from  ten  to  twelve 
pounds,  and  pullets  from  seven  to  nine  pounds.  My  year- 
old  (this  Sepiomber)  pullets  weigh  seven  and  a  half  pounds, 
and  will,  no  doubt,  during  the  coming  winter  run  up  to 
eight  or  nine  pounds. 

"  They  are  not  large  eaters,  considering  their  size ;  after 
repeated  trials,  when  closed  in  a  small  yard,  without  grass, 
I  find  the  fourteen  head  would  only  eat  three  pints  of  grain 
per  day,  or  a  fraction  over  a  bushel  each  per  year,  and 
with  a  good  range  a  bushel  of  grain  per  head  would  be  an 
ample  supply. 

"  Their  very  quiet  habits  are  greatly  in  their  favor.  A 
four-foot  wire,  picket,  or  lath  fence,  they  seldom  get  over. 
If  they  should,  then  shorten  the  feathers  on  one  wing,  and 
there  is  no  more  trouble. 

"  As  mothers,  they  are  excellent  sitters  and  nurses — 
rather  heavy  when  hatching.     Chicks  should  be  removed 


40  DOMESTIC    POULTRY. 

almost  as  fast  as  they  are  hatched,  and  kept  warm  till  all 
are  out.  When  with  their  chicks,  they  move  about  as 
carefully  and  gracefully  as  a  turkey-hen.  Being  large  and 
full-fledged,  they  will,  in  warm  weather,  care  well  for  two 
dozen  chicks — in  the  cooler  seasons  a  dozen  will  be  ample. 

"They  are  more  disposed  to  sit  than  many  other  kinds. 
By  shutting  them  up  a  few  days,  giving  plenty  of  food 
and  water,.J^ey  soon  give  up  and  go  to  laying  again. 

"  As  a  market-bird,  their  fine  size  and  plumpness  make 
very  desirable  table-birds-^their  flesh,  in  my  estimation, 
being  quiet  equal  to  the  very  best :  in  fact,  when  we  take 
into  consideration  their  winter-laying  qualities,  with  all 
their  other  good  qualities,  they  are  just  the  birds  for  the 
million.  Being  fully  feathered,  even  to  their  toes,  protects 
them  against  the  vicissitudes  of  our  ever-changing  climate. 

"  As  a  lawn-bird,  none  excel  them  in  beauty.  A  flock, 
viewed  from  a  short  distance,  gracefully  moving  about,  or 
quietly  sitting  in  groups,  are  frequently  mistaken  for  a 
flock  of  lambs. 

"  For  crossing,  or  bringing  up  the  ordinary  stock  of  the 
country  to  full  fifty  or  seventy-five  per  cent,  in  value,  my 
advice  to  poultry-growers  is,  to  procure  good  male  birds, 
remove  all  others." 

Mr.  H.  G.  White,  in  the  Albany  Country  Gentleman, 
of  August  4, 1864,  says :  "  After  several  years'  expei'ience 
I  find  this  variety  well  adapted  to  the  general  purposes  for 
which  fowls  are  kept. 

"  They  possess  size,  beauty  and  hardiness  in  a  great  de- 
gree, and  are  very  prolific.  Their  eggs,  which  are  large, 
surpass  all  others  in  richness ;  and,  like  most  fowls  with 
light  plumage  and  yellow  legs,  their  flesh  is  of  good  quality. 
I  have  obtained  from  fifty-five  fowls,  in  the  month  of  March, 
ninety-two  and  a  half  dozen  of  eggs.  They  excel  all  others 
as  winter-layers.  I  have  raised  the  present  season  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  chickens  with  quite  ordinary  care," 


DOEKING   FOWLS.  41 

To  form  a  just  opinion  of  these  fowl,  it  is  necessary  to 
study  their  liabits  and  to  breed  them.  Enough  is  seen  in 
their  shape  to  justify  us  in  holding  them  distinct  from  the 
Cochin,  but  still  more  do  we  find  it  in  their  habits  and 
produce.  As  a  useful  and  hardy  fowl  it  is  unsurpassed. 
They  are  excellent  layers  of  good-sized  eggs,  good  foragers, 
when  they  can  have  their  liberty,  and  good  sitters  and 
mothers.  The  chickens  fledge  more  kindly  than  the  Co- 
chins, grow  fast  and  are  exceedingly  hardy ;  old  and  young 
take  good  care  of  themselves,  and  by  fasting,  when  absti- 
nence is  beneficial,  often  recover  from  ailments  which  would 
carry  off  any  of  a  less  hardy  sort — in  fact,  I  know  no  other 
chickens  which  are  so  hardy  as  they,  and  reared  with  so 
little  trouble  and  loss,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  pi'o- 
nouncing  them  the  most  useful  fowls  for  the  American 
farm-yard. 


THE     DORKING    FOWLS. 

This  breed  of  fowl  was  described  by  Pliny,  by  Colum- 
ella, and  by  Aldrovandus ;  and  has  long  been  known  to 
naturalists  as  the  Gallus  pentadaetylus^  or  five-toed  fowl. 
The  breed  is  of  gi'eat  antiquity ;  possibly  the  "  couple  of 
short-legged  hens "  which  Justice  Shallow,  of  Gloucester- 
shire, ordered  for  the  entertainment  of  Sir  John  Falstaff, 
may  have  at  least  been  closely  related  to  it.  Some  sup- 
pose it  'to  have  been  introduced  by  the  Romans,  as  they 
esteemed  a  breed  of  fowls  characterized  by  five  toes  ;  and 
a  five-toed  variety  existed  in  ancient  Greece,  for  such  ia 
noticed  by  Aristotle. 

The  name  Dorking  originated  from  a  town  of  that  name 
in  Sussex,  England  ;  but  why,  cannot  be  readily  ansv/ered, 
for  when  Camden  wrote  his  Brittania,  in  1610,  Dorking 


42  DOMESTIC   POULTEY. 

was  80  inconsiderable  as  not  even  to  be  mentioned  by  hira^ 
and  in  his  map  of  Surrey  it  is  marked  a  mere  village.  The 
fame  of  Dorking  poultry  waS  established  in  England  about 
125  years  ago  ;  and  from  that  time  the  greatest  care  and 
attention  have  been  paid  to  their  breeding. 

The  first  Dorkings  brought  into  the  United  States  were 
introduced  in  about  the  year  1840,  by  Hon.  L.  F.  Allen, 
of  Black  Rock,  New  York. 


■WHITE  DORKING  COCK. 

Of  the  Dorkings  there  are  three  varieties ;  the  white, 
gray,  and  speckled.  The  white  has  been  supposed  to  be 
the  Dorking  of  old  fanciers.  B,  P.  Brent  says  :  "The 
old  Dorking,  the  pure  Dorking,  the  only  Dorking,  is  the 
white  Dorking ;"  and  that  the  speckled  or  gray  Dorking 
is  a  recent  and  improved  cross,  by  which  the  size  was 
much  increased,  between  the  original  white  breed  and  the 


DOKKIKG  FOWI.S. 


43 


FOOT   OF  DOKKING  COCK. 


Malay,  or  some  other  large  fowls  ;  but  I  cannot  assent  to 
such  a  proposition.     Columella's  favorite  sort  of  hen  could 

not  differ  much  from 
// )  the  speckled  Dorkings 

as  they  at  present  ex 
ist.  He  says :  "  Let 
them  be  of  a  reddish 
or  dark  plumage,  and 
with  black  wings. 
Let  the  breeding  hens, 
therefore,  be  of  a 
choice  color,  a  robust 
body,  square  built, 
full  -  breasted,  with 
large  heads,  with  up- 
right and  bright  red  combs ;  those  are  believed  to  be 
the  best  breed  which  have  five  toes." 

Columella  had  the  white  sort,  but  he  rejected  them,  for 
he  adrises :  "  Let  the  white  ones  be  avoided,  for  they  are 
generally  both  tender  and  less  viva- 
cious, and  also  ar^ot  found  to  be  proli- 
fic ; "  and  such  seems  to  be  the  prevail- 
ing opinion  of  many  poultry-fanciers 
in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  gray 
and  speckled  Dorkings  above  referred 
to  have  of  late  been  prodigious  favor- 
ites at  all  the  poultry  shows  in  England 
and  Scotland;  and  are  bred  to  great 
size  and  beauty ;  in  fact,  they  are 
larger  and  heavier  birds  than  the  white. 
When  exhibited,  rose  and  single-comb- 
ed fowls  compete  together,  but  it  is  im- 
perative that  all  their  combs  in  one  pen 
shall  be  alike.  In  plumage,  also,  the  birds  in  a  pen  should 
match,  although  almost  any  variety  as  to  color  is  tolerat- 


FOOT   OF  PULLET. 


(44) 


DOEKING   FOWLS.  45 

ed.  The  gray  Dorking  is  a  large,  plump,  compact, 
square-made  fowl,  with  short  legs  and  ample  furnishing. 
The  fifth  toe  must  be  well  developed,  and  quiie  distinct 
pointing  upwards  and  not  a  mere  branch  of  the  fourth. — 
The  accompanying  illustrations  will  more  lucidly  explain 
the  development  of  the  fifth  toe.  The  following  is  from 
the  pen  of  Mr.  John  Bailey,  considered  the  best  judge  ot 
these  fowls  in  the  world:  "One  of  the  most  popular 
colors  for  hens  in  the  present  day  is  that  known  as  Lord 
Hill's.  The  body  of  these  birds  is  of  a  light  slate  color, 
the  quill  of  each  feather  being  white ;  the  hackle  is  that 
known  as  silver,  being  black  and  white  striped ;  the 
breast  is  slightly  tinged  with  salmon  color.  The  next 
class  is  a  larger  one — the  grays.  These  may  be  of  any 
color,  provided  they  are  not  brown ;  ash  cobweb  with 
dark  hackle ;  semi-white  with  dark  sj^ots ;  light  gray,  pen- 
ciled with  darker  shades  of  the  same  color.  With  alf 
these  the  most  desirable  match  for  a  cock  is  one  with  light 
hackle  and  saddle,  dark  breast  and  tail ;  I  advisedly  say 
dark  in  preference  to  black,  because  I  tliink  servile  ad- 
herence to  any  given  color  too  often  necessitated  the  sacri- 
fice of  more  valuable  qualities.  I  look  on  a  fine  Dorking 
cock  witli  no  less  admiration  if  his  breast  be  sjieckled  and 
his  tail  composed  of  a  mixture  of  blijck  and  white  feath- 
ers ;  and  such  a  bird  is  a  fit  and  proper  mate  for  any  gray 
hens — but  the  gray  must  not  be  confounded  with  the 
speckle;  these  have  a  brown  ground  with  white  spots. 
One  of  the  best  judges  I  know  of  a  Dorking  fowl,  proper- 
ly describes  them  as  brown  hens  covered  with  flakes  of 
snow.  These  speckled  hens  are  of  two  distinct  colors, 
the  first  is  known  as  Sir  John  Cathcart's  color ;  the  pullets 
are  of  a  rich  chocolate,  splashed  or  spotted  with  white ; 
the  cocks  are  either  black-breasted  reds  without  mixture, 
or  spotted  like  the  hens  on  the  breast  and  partially  on  the 
body ;  it  is  no  objection  if  the  tail  is  partially  colored— 


46  DORKING   FOWLS. 

another  speckle  is  of  a  grayish-brown  spotted  with  white ; 
these  hens  should  have  a  cock  with  dark  hackle  and  sad- 
dle, and  the  wings  and  hack  should  show  some  red  or 
chestnut  feathers.  These  last  are  not  essential,  but  a 
light  cock  will  not  match  speckled  hens.  Next  we  have 
brown  hens ;  these  should  have  a  black-breasted  red  cock, 
but  a  speckled  one  will  pass  muster." 

In  the  silver  gray,  the  cock  should  have  black  breast 
and  tail,  and  white  hackle  on  neck  and  saddle.  The  hen 
should  have  a  white  hackle  streaked  with  black,  light  gray 
body,  with  light  shafts  to  the  feathers  and  a  robin  breast. 

In  size,  the  Dorking  ranks  next  to  the  large  Asiatic 
tribe.  It  is  short-legged  and  large  bodied,  and  readily 
accumulates  flesh,  which  is  of  a  very  good  quality.  Mow- 
bray, when  he  wrote,  ranked  them  in  size  in  the  third  de- 
gree of  the  largest  of  fowls.  The  Aveight  of  the  Dorking 
at  maturity  varies  from  five  to  eight  pounds,  and  full 
grown  Capons  have  been  known  to  weigh  from  ten  to 
twelve. 

The  Dorking  hen  is  rarely  a  layer  of  more  than  twenty 
eggs,  when  she  becomes  broody.  The  eggs  are  usually  of 
a  clear  white,  but  sometimes  of  an  ashy-gray  color,  rather 
larger  in  size,  weighing  from  21  to  3  ounces  each ;  round- 
ed at  both  ends  and -of  a  rich  flavor.  They  are  excellent 
sitters  and  good  mothers.  Mariot  Didieux,  in  his  "  Prac- 
tical Guide  for  the  Rearing  of  Poultry  "  writes :  "  The 
Dorking  is  so  highly  prized  by  the  English  people  because 
they  know  their  flesh  is  good  for  the  table. — In  fact,  by 
the  color  of  its  skin,  their  form,  and  the  fineness  of  their 
bones,  they  show  a  great  aptitude  tg  fitten,  the  fat  they 
acquire  spreads  itself  well,  and  covers  all  parts  of  the 
body — fattened,  they  resemble  an  oval  shaped  ball  of 
grease,  very  white,  almost  like  Mother  of  Pearl  from  the 
fineness  of  the  skin." 

Dr.  Eben  Wight,  of  Boston,  says :  "  So  far  as  my  ex 


DOEKING  FOWLS.  47 

perience  has  gone,  the  Dorkings  are  decidedly  the  best 
breed  for  laying ;  the  eggs  come  abundantly,  and  are  of 
the  largest  size,  except  when  they  have  been  bred  in-and- 
in  too  much." 

In  fact,  this  breed  of  fowl  can  not  be  bred  in-and-in  like 
other  breeds,  and  such  is  the  greatest  drawback  to  breed- 
ing them  in  this  country,  unless  a  fresh-imported  cock  be 
introduced  almost  yearly  amongst  the  hens.  Many  breed- 
ers of  Dorkings,  fearing  almost  total  ruin  in  their  chicken 
department,  introduced  a  game  cock ;  but  though  he  may 
replenish  the  yard  with  a  robust  stock  of  chickens,  I  am 
averse  to  any  method,  adopting  which  destroys  the  purity 
of  a  breed  of  fowls  so  excellent  as  these,  and  therefore  can 
only  advise  this  breed  of  poultry  to  be  selected  by  those 
who  either  have  the  means  or  ficilities  of  obtaining  an 
imported  cock  at  least  every  second  year.  For  this  rea- 
son Mr.  Dixon  says,  after  speaking  of  their  good  qualities  : 
"  With  all  these  merits  they  are  not  found  to  be  a  profita- 
ble stock,  if  kept  thorough-bred  and  unmixed.  Their  pow- 
ers seem  to  fail  at  an  early  age.  They  are  also  apt  to  pine 
away  and  die  just  at  the  point  of  reaching  maturity,  par- 
ticularly the  fairest  specimens — that  is,  the  most  thorough- 
bred, are  .destroyed  by  this  malady." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Derby  and  Chester- 
field Reporter :  "  The  common  sense  of  the  public  has 
brought  back  the  Dorking  fowl  to  its  wonted  pre-eminence. 
At  the  sale  after  the  Metropolitan  Show,  and  also  at  the 
Birmingham  Exhibition  of  1854,  the  Dorking  fowl  met 
with  a  readier  sale  at  larger  prices  than  any  other  kind. 
The  public  voice  has  recognized  it  as  the  bird  for  the  Eng- 
lish farm-yard ;  it  is  altogether  the  pet  of  John  Bull,  as 
possessing  great  and  good  qualities  without  ostentation  and 
clamor.  The  history  of  our  county-town  records  no  less 
than  three  poultry  sales  by  public  auction ;  and,  at  each  of 
those,  the  Dorking  fowl  obtained  the  highest  bidding — 


48  .  DOMESTIC  POULTRY. 

good  hens  selling  for  as  much  as  thirty  shillings  (seven 
dollars  and  fifty  cents)  each ;  and  further,  the  most  success- 
ful breeders  of  Dorking  fowls,  are,  at  this  moment,  selling 
their  eggs  readily  at  three  guineas  (fifteen  dollars)  per 
dozen." 

It  must  he  borne  in  mmd  that  at  the  time  of  the  writing 
of  the  above,  the  Brahma  Pootra  was  but  little  known,  and 
though  the  Dorking  has  many  fine  points  (especially  the 
delicacy  and  flavor  of  its  flesh  and  handsome  appearance 
when  presented  to  the  gourmand),  there  is  one  fatal 
objection  to  its  being  reared  with  success  by  the  American 
fermer,  and  which  I  have  described  above. 

Mr.  Trotter,  who  received  a  prize  from  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  England,  for  the  best  "  Essay  on  Poul-, 
try,"  devoted  only  eighteen  lines  to  the  Dorking  fowl  and 
said,  "  this  breed  degenerates  when  removed  from  its  na- 
tive place."  And  as  I  can  not  believe  he  meant  a  removal 
from  its  native  town  to  other  parts  of  England,  I  must  con- 
clude he  meant  a  removal  by  exportation,  because  he 
might  as  well  attempt  to  declare  that  an  Alderney  cow 
would  degenerate  by  a  removal  from  the  island  of  that 
name  in  the  English  Channel  to  the  wealds  of  Sussex,  (Sur- 
rey, or  Kent. 

I  have  already  stated  I  believe  the  gray  or  speckled 
Dorking  ta  be  better  than  the  white ;  and  as  the  first  con- 
sideration is  the  breeding-stock,  I  would  advise,  m  an  or- 
dinary farm-yard,  to  begin  with  twelve  hens  and  two 
cocks, — the  latter  should  agree  well  together. 

Too  much  pains  can  not  be  taken  in  selecting  the  breed- 
ing-fowls. They  should  not  only  be  of  the  best  breed,  but 
the  best  of  the  breed.  I  should  choose  them  with  small 
neads,  taper  necks,  broad  shoulders,  square  bodies,  white 
legs,  and  well-defined,  five  claws.  It  may  be  well  here  for 
me  to  state  why  the  speckled  or  gray  are  to  be  preferred 
to  the  white  Dorking.     They  are  larger,  hardier,  and  fat- 


SPANISH  FOWLS.  49 

ten  more  readily ;  and  although  it  may  appear  anomalous, 
it  is  not  less  true,  that  white-feathered  poultry  has  a  teii- 
denoy  to  yellowness  in  the  flesh  and  fat. 


THE    SPANISH    FOWL. 

It  is  easy  to  describe  this  beautiful  and  noble  race  of 
fowls,  as  no  variety  of  color  is  admissible.  These  birds 
must  be  black  throughout,  richly  shaded  with  a  metallic 
green  lustre.  A  purely  white  face  is  imperatively  neces- 
sary to  constitute  a  perfect  specimen.  Care  must  be  taken 
not  to  mistake  the  ear-lobe  for  the  face,  as  in  the  very 
worst  samples  of  the  bird  the  former  will  be  found  quite 
white.  In  a  first-class  bird  this  color  must  be  unmixed 
with  red  spots,  and  extend  from  the  insertion  of  the  comb 
to  the  gill,  and  from  the  ear-lobe  to  the  beak.  The  ear- 
lobe  must  be  large,  pendant,  thick,  and  quite  free  from 
any  color. 

This  part  of  the  face  is  more  developed  in  the  cock  than 
the  hen ;  in  fact,  he  has  it  much  larger  than  any  other  fowl. 
It  is  composed  of  a  double  skin  forming  a  sort  of  bag. 
.The  cock  should  have  a  large  upright  comb  reaching  the 
nostril.  His  wattle  should  be  very  large  and  long,  his 
breast  round  and  protuberant,  his  tail  ample,  his  carriage 
noble  and  very  upright.  The  combs  of  the  hens  should 
fall  over,  and,  when  in  good  condition,  be  large  enough  to 
hide  one  side  of  the  face.  Their  breasts  are  prominent, 
but  not  so  much  as  in  the  cocks ;  their  faces  very  long, 
thin,  and  skinny.  The  points  both  sexes  have  in  common, 
are  taper  blue  legs,  and  deviating  from  the  required  line 
of  perfection  in  most  other  fowls,  they  should  be  long. 
3 


50 


DOMESTIC  POULTET. 


In  shape,  the  body  should  slant  downwards  from  the  neck 
to  the  tail,  and  narrow  from  the  shoulders  till  at  the  ned 
it  approaches  a  point.  In  walking  they  carry  themselves 
very  upright.  The  following  precise  description  of  this 
beautiful  and  popular  variety  of  fowl  will  be  appreciated 
by  amateurs :  — 


BLACK  SPAKISH  COCK. 


Cocks. — BiU— Strong,  slightly  curved,  and  dark-color- 
ed. M/e — Large  dark  and  flashing,  surrounded  with  a 
naked  white  skin,  extending  from  the  base  of  the  comb 
around  the  ears  and  cheeks,  meeting  like  a  cravat  under 
the  throat  and  terminating  in  the  ear-lobes,  which  are  ex- 


SPATSISH   FOWLS. 


51 


ceedingly  long  and  pendulous.  If  this  white  face  is  very- 
large  and  well  developed,  it  proves  high  breeding ;  the 
texture  of  the  skin  cannot  be  too  fine  and  smooth,  and  if 
it  is  blushed  or  spotted  with  red,  it  is  considered  faulty. 
Comb — Single  and  large,  beginning  over  the  nostril,  and 
extending  backwards,  should  stand  very  erect,  be  regular- 
ly serrated,  fine  in  the  grain  and  of  a  rich  vermilion  color. 
Wattles — Very  large,  vermilion  colored,  hanging  a  good 
way  down  the  neck,  which  is  longer  in  this  than  in  any 
other  breeds.  The  hody  should  be  as  deep  as  possible,  the 
legs  being  naturally  long,  and. 
depth  in  body  from  the  back  to 
the  breast  bone  gives  a  better 
proportion  to  the  shape,  which 
\vould  otherwise  look  scraggy. 
The  legs  are  clean  and  of  a 
dark-blue  color.  Plumage — A 
brilliant  jet  black,  hackles  and 
saddle  feathers  long.  Tail — 
Full,  rising  perpendicularly 
from  the  back,  and  the  numerous 
sickle  feathers  falling  very  grace- 
fully. Carriage  —  Bold  and 
majestic  ;  this  is  of  great  im-  head  of  black  Spanish  cock. 
portance  in  rendering  these  fowls  handsome  and  attractive. 

Hens. — White  face  not  so  large  as  that  of  the  cock. 
Comb — Large  and  hanging  over,  it  lessens  very  much 
during  the  moulting  or  non-laying  season,  and  is  much 
affected  by  cold.     Plumage  perfectly  black  and  glossy. 

They  are  invaluable  layers,  because,  although  they  are 
only  moderate  feeders,  their  eggs  are  larger  than  those  of 
any  other  fowl.  I  have  seen  them  four  and  a  half  ounces 
each.  They  are  valuable  for  culinary  purposes,  three  of 
them  being  equal  to  five  of  many  other  breeds.  They  do 
not  sit.     The  best  time  to  rear  them  is  between  April  and 


52 


DOMESTIC   POUIiTRT. 


June ;  and  although  not  perhaps  to  be  considered  very  deli- 
cate chickens,  so  far  as  growth  is  concerned,  yet  it  is  cer- 
tain they  do  not  bear  a  check  so  well  as  many  other  breeds, 
and  it  is,  therefore,  well  to  watch  them,  that  stimulants 
may  be  given  in  time.  They  are  very  naked,  when  hatch- 
ed, and  are  often  a  long  time  before  they  feather.  They 
may  be  seen  running  about  with  black  feathers  in  their 
wings,  and  scarcely  any  other  on  their  bodies. 


BLACK  SPANISH    HEN. 

At  this  period  they  requii-e  to  be  covered  warmly  every 
night.  The  great  mortality  among  chickens  of  this  breed 
is  between  two  and  four  weeks  old.  Poultry-fanciers  in 
England  strongly  recommend  the  use  of  bi-ead  and  ale  at 
least  twice  every  ^day,  and  also  cooked  fresh  meat  chopped 
fine. 

These  fowls  are  rather  more  difficult  to  rear  than  any 
other,  but  they  repay  for  the  labor.      In  winter  they 


SPANISH   FOWLS.  53 

should  be  protected  from  severe  exposure  and  freezing, 
which  is  very  apt  %o  destroy  their  combs  and  wattles,  and 
of  course  their  chief  beauty.  I  have  never  known  any 
of  this  breed  to  suflEer  from  roup,  but  they  are  subject 
to  a  peculiar  kind  of  swelled  face,  which  comes  first  by 
the  appearance  of  a  small  knob  under  the  skin ;  it  in- 
creases till  it  has  run  over  one  side  of  the  face,  and  I  know 
of  no  cure  for  it.  The  sex  of  a  Spanish  fowl  is  easily  dis 
tinguished,  as  the  cocks  show  their  combs  plainly  at  a 
month  old.  At  this  age  we  always  look  for  growth  in 
Spanish  chickens,  and  all  faulty  cocks  at  about  seven  or 
eight  weeks  old  should  be  killed.  One  of  the  greatest  faults 
they  can  have,  and  the  only  one  that  is  plainly  developed 
at  an  early  age,  is  a  drooping  comb. 

The  greatest  merit  a  Spanish  fowl  can  have  is  a  perfect- 
ly white  face ;  but  if  a  cock  had  the  best  and  most  fault- 
less ever  seen,  it  would  neither  excuse  nor  palliate  a  droop- 
ing comb. 

The  chickens,  and  the  best  of  them,  commonly,  indeed 
almost  always,  have  white  in  the  flight  feathers  of  the 
wings ;  and  if  they  appear  when  hatched  with  white 
breasts  it  need  cause  no  appi'ehension,  as  it  is  a  common 
thing,  and  they  will  become  black. 

Lovers  of  these  fowls  have  called  them,  says  Bailey, 
"the  Aristocracy  of  poultry."  Fine  specimens  realize 
high  prices  in  England.  I  have  known  one  hundred  dol- 
lars to  be  ineffectually  offered  for  a  cock  and  two  hens. 
Our  best  Spanish  fowl  were  formerly  got  from  Holland, 
but  the  great  demand  for  them,  both  here  and  in  England, 
has  nearly  exhausted  the  market  there. 

In  the  habits  of  the  Spanish  fowl  there  is  nothing  pecu- 
liar to  require  notice.  They  are  not,  it  is  true,  so  quiet 
and  disinclined  to  roaming  as  the  Cochin,  but  if  well  fed 
at  home,  they  will  not  be  found  to  stray  far  from  their 
walk.     To  those  who  desire  to  eat  eggs,  but  are  obliged 


54  DOMESTIC   POULTRY. 

to  class  chickens  amongst  unattainable  luxuries,  I  would 
advise  to  adopt  Spanish,  as  they  are  "  orerlasting  layers," 
but  "non-sitters." 


THE    GAME    FOWL. 

Among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  the  pugnacious  pro- 
pensities and  indomitable  courage  of  animals,  whether 
quadrupeds  or  birds,  never  failed  to  attract  attention. 
The  Romans,  indeed,  whose  passion  for  the  combats  of 
the  amphitheatre  was  notorious,  collected  not  only  the  fe- 
rocious tenants  of  the  Libyan  desert  for  the  gratification 
of  their  blood-thirsty  disposition,  but  bred  up  dogs  for 
the  arena,  and  even  sent  authorized  officers  into  Britain 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  those  terrible  mastiffs  for 
which  the  island  was  so  celebrated,  and  it  cannot  be  sup- 
posed that  the  combativeness  of  the  game-cock  would  be 
overlooked.  Cock-fighting  was  as  much  in  vogue  in 
Greece  and  Italy  in  ancient  days,  as  it  was  duiing  the 
last  century  in  Great  Britain,  and  is  at  present  in  India, 
China,  Malacca,  and  the  adjacent  islands  of  Sumatra  and 
Java,  etc.  The  Greeks  produced  several  renowned  breeds 
of  game-fowls,  and  Media  and  Persia  produced  others  of 
first-rate  excellence.  On  Caesar's  arrival  in  England  he 
found  the  fowl  domesticated ;  but  these,  as  well  as  the 
hare,  were  forbidden  as  food,  as  it  was  not  deemed  law- 
ful to  eat  them,  and  were  only  bred  for  the  sake  of  fancy 
and  pleasure.  But  it  is  probable  we  owe  the  game-fowl 
to  the  Romans,  for  when  Britain  was  a  Roman  colony,  it 
is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Romans  resident  on  that 
island  would  give  up  the  sports  to  which  they  were  so 
passionately  addicted ;  and  as  they  sent  British  fighting- 
dogs  to  Rome,  so  from  Rome  might  they  import  their 


GAME  FOWL. 


65 


BLACK-BIUiASTED  RED  GAME  COCK. 


56  D0MB8TIC   POITLTET. 

fighting-cocks  of  Greek  or  Persian  lineage.  Many  of  us 
have  a  sort  of  liking  for  a  game-cock,  although  we  may 
abhor  cock-fighting,  and  hundreds  who  dread  their  com- 
bats still  cling  to  the  breed.  There  are  two  sets  of  ama- 
teurs :  one  looks  only  to  beauty  of  plumage ;  the  other, 
careless  of  feather,  scans  closely  those  points  that  will 
tell  in  a  fight.  If  fowls  were  not  wanted  for  the  table, 
and  if  perfect  symmetry,  beautiful  color,  hardihood,  and 
daring  were  all  that  was  required  of  them,  the  amateur 
might  possess  duckwings,  (pied),  or  black-breasted  reds, 
or  any  other  of  the  numerous  varieties  of  this  breed, 
and  rest  content.  He  would,  indeed,  be  obliged  to  limit 
the  number  of  his  pets,  because  the  males  will  not  agree ; 
and  unless  the  young  cocks  are  looked  upon  with  pride 
as  those  that  are  to  figure  in  a  main,  there  is  always  sad- 
ness in  seeing  sprightly  ones  gro^ving  up,  because  it  is 
certain  they  must  be  got  rid  of  in  some  way,  or  they  will 
fight  among  themselves  till  but  two  or  three  remain.  Nor 
is  this  propensity  confined  to  cocks ;  high-bred  hens  are 
quite  as  pugnacious,  and  fatal  contests  between  them  are 
things  of  common  occurrence. 

The  game-cock  is  of  bold  carriage ;  his  comb  is  single, 
bright  red,  and  upright ;  his  face  and  wattle  of  a  beauti 
ful  red  color ;  the  expression  of  countenance  fearless,  but 
without  the  cruelty  of  the  Malay ;  <ihe  eye  very  full  and 
bright ;  the  beak  strong,  curved,  well  fixed  in  the  head, 
and  very  stout  at  the  roots.  The  breast  should  be  full, 
pei-fectly  straight;  the  body  round  in  hand,  broad  be- 
tween the  shoulders,  and  tapering  to  the  tail,  havinor  the 
shape  of  a  flat-iron,  or  appi-oaching  heait-shaped ;  the 
thighs  hard,  short,  and  round  ;  the  leg  stout ;  the  foot  flat 
and  strong,  and  the  spur  not  high  on  the  leg.  The  wings 
are  so  placed  on  the  body  as  to  be  available  for  sudden 
and  rapid  springs.  The  feathers  should  be  hard,  very 
strong  in  quills,  and  like  the  Malay  it  should  seem  as 


GAME   FOWL.  87 

though  all  their  feathers  were  glued  together  till  they  feel 
like  one. 

A  game-cock  should  be  what  fanciers  call  "  clever." 
Every  proportion  should  he  in  perfect  harmony ;  and  the 
bird,  placed  on  his  breast  in  the  palm  of  the  hand,  should 
exactly  balance. 

This  is  another  breed  of  fowl  where  any  deviation  from 
perfection  is  fatal.  It  has  been  well  said,  "  a  perfect  one 
is  not  too  good,  and  thei'efore  an  imperfect  one  is  not  good 
enough."  Abundant  plumage,  long  soft  hackles  and  sad- 
dles, too  much  tail  or  a  tail  carried  squirrel-fashion  over 
the  back,  the  least  deviation  from  straightness  of  the 
breast-bone,  long  thighs,  in-knees,  weak  beaks,  or  coarse 
heads,  are  all  faults,  and  should  be  avoided.  These  birds 
are  generally  "  dubbed  "  before  they  are  shown  at  fairs  or 
exhibitions.  This  should  be  neatly  performed ;  every  su- 
perfluous piece  of  skin  and  flesh  being  removed,  so  that 
the  head  should  stand  out  of  the  hackle  as  though  it  were 
shaven.  The  plumage  should  also  be  so  scanty  that  the 
shape  of  the  bird,  especially  the  tapering  of  the  back  and 
the  roundness  of  the  body,  may  be  seen.  Every  feather 
should  feel  as  if  made  of  whalebone,  and,  if  raised  with 
the  finger,  should  fall  into  its  original  place.  It  should 
be  almost  impossible  to  rufile  the  plumage  of  a  game- 
cock. The  tail  should  be  rather  small  than  otherwise,  and 
be  carried  somewhat  drooping.  The  plumage  of  these 
birds  is  trimmed  before  they  fight.  This  is  called  "  cut- 
ting out,"  and  the  less  there  is  to  remove  in  the  way  of 
feather  the  better  for  the  bird.  They  are  in  every  respect 
fighting  birds,  and  every  one  who  sees  a  set-to  between  two 
of  them  must  look  on  with  pleasure,  if  it  occurs  as  they 
pass  through  a  yard.  The  hens  should  be  like  the  cocks, 
allowing  for  difierence  of  sex ;  the  necks  and  heads  fine, 
legs  taper,  plumage  hard,  and  combs  small,  upright  and 
serrated.  Hens  should  not  be  chosen  with  large  or  loose 
3* 


58  DOMESTIC  POULTET. 

combs,  and   they  should  handle  as  hard  as  the  cocks. 

A  word  or  two  may  not  be  out  of  place  as  to  the  table* 
properties  of  this  beautiful  breed.  It  is  true  they  are  in 
no  way  fit  for  the  fattening-coop ;  they  cannot  bear  the 
extra  food  without  excitement,  and  that  is  not  favorable 
to  obesity.  Nevertheless,  they  have  their  merits.  If  they 
are  allowed  to  run  semi-wUd  in  the  woods,  to  frequent 
sunny  banks  and  dry  ditches,  they  will  grow  full  of  meat, 
though  with  little  fat.  They  must  be  eaten  young,  and  a 
game-pullet  four  or  five  months  old,  caught  up  wild  in  tliis 
way  and  killed  two  days  before  she  is  eaten,  is,  perhaps, 
the  most  delicious  chicken  there  is  in  point  of  flavor. 

The  classes  into  which  the  game  fowls  are  divided  are : 
black-breasted  red,  brown-red,  duckwings,  and  other 
grays  and  blues,  white  and  pieds,  and  black,  and  brassy- 
winged,  and  shawl-necks,  or  what  are  sometimes  called 
Ii'ish  grays,  which  are  of  the  largest  class. 

Among  all  the  varieties  of  the  game-fowls,  the  prece- 
dence must  be  given  to  that  variety  known  as  "Lord 
Derby's  breed,"  which  have  been  kept  and  bred  with 
great  care  for  upwards  of  one  hundred  years,  at  Knowls- 
ley,  and  stiU  maintain  their  high  reputation.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  description  of  the  cock  of  that  breed :  he  is  of  a 
good  round  shape,  well  put  together ;  has  a  fine  long  head ; 
long  and  strong  neck ;  wings  large  and  well  quilled ;  b*ck 
short ;  belly  round  and  black  ;  tail  black  and  sickled,  be- 
ing well  tufted  at  the  root ;  legs  rather  long,  with  white 
feet  and  nails ;  plumage,  deep,  rich  red  and  maroon ;  and 
breast  and  thighs  black.  The  Derby  red  hens  possess  lit- 
tle of  their  consort's  brilliancy  of  feather ;  their  body  is 
brown,  each  feather-shaft  being  light;  the  breast  and 
hackle  being  also  light. 

ITie  Duckwings  are  among  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
game-fowls.  The  cocks  vary  in  the  color  of  their  hackle, 
saddle  and  breast  feathers ;  the  hackle-feathers  of  some 


GAMB  FOWL.  69 

strains  being  nearly  white,  in  others  yellow ;  while  with 
some  again,  the  breasts  are  black,  with  some  streaky,  and 
with  some  gray. 

To  breed  fancy,  streak-breasted  brown  red  cockerels, 
mate  a  streaky-breasted  hen  to  a  black-red  cock;  nine 
times  out  of  ten  the  cockerels  will  resemble  the  hen  in 
color.  To  breed  pullets  to  match,  the  cock  must  be 
streaky-breasted,  and  the  hen  black-breasted  red ;  these 
will  be  brown-breasted  reds."  To  obtain  Duckwings,  breed 
from  a  light  gray-backed  and  winged  hen,  with  silver 
hackle  and  salmon  breast,  and  a  black-breasted  red  cock ; 
the  hen  should  not  have  the  slightest  shade  of  red  on  the 
wing ;  this  is  fatal. — To  obtain  similar  pullets,  the  cock 
must  be  Duckwing  and  the  hen  black-red.  Pieds  are  bred 
from  a  white  cock  and  black-red  hen. 

The  color  of  the  eggs  of  the  game-hen  varies  from  a 
dull  white  to  a  fawn.  They  are  good  layers,  as  many  as 
twenty-four  eggs  being  constantly  laid  by  them,  before 
they  manifest  a  desire  to  sit. 

As  sitters,  game-hens  have  no  superiors.  Quiet  on  their 
eggs,  regular  in  the  hours  of  coming  off  and  returning  to 
their  charge,  and  confident,  from  their  fearless  disposition, 
of  repressing  the  incursions  of  any  intruder,  they  rarely 
fail  to  bring  off  good  broods.  Hatching  accomplished, 
their  merits  appear  in  a  still  more  conspicuous  light.  Ever 
on  their  guard,  not  even  the  shadow  of  a  bird  overhead, 
or  the  approach  of  man  or  beast,  but  finds  them  ready  to 
do  battle  for  their  offspring;  and  instances  have  been 
known  where  rats  and  other  vermin  have  thus  fallen  be- 
fore them.  •  ^ 


60 


DOMESTIC   POULTRY. 


MALAY  COCK. 


THE    MALAY    FOWL. 

This  is  another  of  the  Asiatic  "breed,  supposed  to  come 
from  the  islands  of  Sumatra  or  Java,  and,  though  former- 
ly much  fancied  and  sought  after,  has  of  late  years  been 
suffered,  to  decline.  It  has  fallen  before  the  spirit  of  utili- 
ty ;  it  was  not  useful,  and  it  has  lost  ground.     It  is  a  long 


MALAY   FOWL.  61 

rather  than  a  large  bird,  standing  remarkably  upright, 
falling  in  an  almost  uninterrupted  slope  from  the  head  to 
the  insertion  of  the  tail,  which  is  small  and  drooping, 
having  very  beautiful  but  short  sickle-feathers.  It  has  a 
hard,  cruel  expression  of  face,  a  bold  eye,  pearled  around 
the  edge  of  the  lids,  a  hard,  small  comb,  scarcely  so  long 
as  the  head,  having  much  the  appearance  of  a  double 
comb  trimmed  very  small  and  then  flattened ;  a  red,  skinny 
face,  very  strong  curved  beak,  and  the  space  for  an  inch 
below  it  on  the  throat  destitute  of  feathers.  It  has  long 
yellow  legs,  quite  clean ;  it  is  remarkable  for  very  hard 
plumage,  and  the  hinder-parts  of  the  cock  look  like  those 
of  a  game-cock  trimmed  for  fighting.  The  hen  is  of  course 
smaller  than  the  cock.  She  has  the  same  expression  of 
face,  the  same  curious  comb ;  and  in  both  sexes  the  plum- 
age should  be  so  hard  that  when  handled  it  should  feel  as 
though  one  feather  covered  the  body.  From  this  cause 
the  wings  of  the  hen  are  more  prominent  than  in  other 
fowls,  projecting  something  like  those  of  a  carrier-pigeon, 
though  in  a  less  degree.  It  is  a  beauty  in  the  birds  if 
the  projection  or  knobs  of  flesh  at  the  crop,  on  the  end 
wing  joint,  and  at  the  top  of  the  breast  are  naked  and 
red.  They  are  good  layers  and  sitters ;  their  eggs  have  a 
dark  shell,  and  are  said  to  be  superior  in  flavor  to  any 
other. 

The  chickens  feather  slowly,  on  which  account  no  brood 
should  be  hatched  after  July ;  otherwise  the  cold  and  va- 
riable weather  of  autumn  comes  upon  them  before  they 
are  half  grown,  and  the  increase  of  their  bodies  has  so  far 
outstripped  that  of  their  feathers,  that  they  are  half  naked 
about  the  neck  and  shoulders,  which  renders  them  ex- 
tremely susceptible  of  wet  and  cold.  The  chickens  are 
not  difiicult  to  rear ;  but  are  gawky,  long-legged  creatures 
until  they  have  attained  their  full  growth,  and  then  fill  out. 

The  original  colors  were,  cocks  of  a  bright,  rich  rod, 


62  DOMESTIC   POULTET. 

with  black  breast ;  and  hens  of  a  bright  chocolate  or  cin- 
namon color,  generally  one  entire  shade,  but  in  some  in- 
stances the  hackles  were  darker  than  the  rest  of  the  plum- 
age. Some  beautiful  white  specimens  have  lately  been  in- 
troduced, and  a  few  years  ago  there  was  a  handsome 
breed  of  them  colored  like  pied  games. 

The  Malays  have  one  great  virtue ;  they  will  live  any- 
where ;  they  will  inhabit  a  back  yard  of  small  dimen- 
sions ;  they  will  scratch  in  the  dust-pit  and  roost  in  a  coal- 
hole, and  yet  lay  well  and  show  in  good  condition  when 
requisite. 

The  Malays  are  inveterate  fighters,  and  this  is  the  quali- 
ty for  which  they  are  chiefly  prized  in  their  native  country, 
where  cock-fighting  is  carried  to  the  extent  of  excessive 
gambling.  Men  and  boys  may  be  frequently  met,  each 
carrying  his  favorite  bird  under  his  arm,  ready  to  set  to 
work  the  moment  the  opportunity  shall  offer. 

The  general  character  of  these  birds  is  vindictive,  cruel, 
and  tyrannical. 


THE    COCHIN-CHINA    FOWL. 

The  record  of  the  Cochin-China  Fowls  will  always  form 
an  important  chapter  in  the  history  of  poultry.  They 
were  introduced  in  the  year  1845,  and  were  first  possessed 
by  Queen  Victoria,  and  soon  after  became  known  and  pop- 
ular. They  were  scarce,  and  this  made  people  anxious  to 
possess  them.  Men  became  frantic  after  Cochin-China 
fowls,  and  this  went  on  at  an  increasing  ratio  until- the 
prices  paid  became  ridiculous ;  a  hundred  good  Cochins 
would  purchase  a  smaH  farm,  and  a  cock  and  two  hens, 
from  favorite  strains,  were  thought  cheap  if  bought  for  less 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.     They  have,  however, 


COCHIN   CHINA   FOWL. 


63 


after  fluctuating  in  value  more  than  anything  except  rail- 
road shares,  fallen  in  price,  for  prices  were  unnaturally 
enhanced.  They  are  now  within  the  reach  of  all,  and 
favorites  with  the  public. 


COCnrN   CHXNA  COCK  AND  HEN. 


The  Cochin-China  Cock  is  a  bold,  upright  bird,  with 
erect,  indented  single  comb  rising  from  the  beak  over  the 
'nostril,  projecting  over  the  neck,  and  then  slanting  away 
underneath  to  allow  the  root  to  be  fixed  on  the  top  of  the 


C4  DOMESTIC   POULTET. 

head.  The  beak  is  strong  and  curved,  the  Ly '  bold,  the 
face  red,  the  wattle  pendant,  and  the  ear-lobe  very  long, 
hanging  much  lower  than  in  other  fowls.  He  is  a  bird  of 
noble  carriage,  and  differs  from  most  other  fowls  in  the 
following  points :  He  has  little  tail ;  indeed,  in  very  fine 
specimens,  it  may  be  said  they  have  none ;  they  have  the 
hackle  large  and  long;  it  falls  from  the  neck  to  the  back, 
and  from  its  tennination  there  is  a  small,  gradual  rise,  to 
where  the  tail  should  be,  but  where  its  apology,  some 
glossy,  slightly  twisted  feathers,  fall  over  like  those  of  an 
ostrich.  The  next  peculiarities  of  these  birds  are  what 
are  technically  called  "  the  fluff"  and  "  the  crow."  The 
former  is  composed  of  beautifully  soft,  long  feathers,  cov- 
ering the  thighs  till  they  project  considerably,  and  gar- 
nishing all  the  hinder  parts  of  the  bird  in  the  same  man- 
ner; so  much  so  that  to  view  the  widest  part  of  the 
Cochin-China  cock,  you  must  look  at  him  behind.  His 
crow  is  to  the  crow  of  other  cocks  what  the  railway 
whistle  is  to  to  that  of  the  errand-boy  in  the  streets ;  it  is 
loud,  hoarse,  and  amazingly  prolonged.  They  seem  to 
delight  in  it,  and  will  continue  it  till  they  are  on  tiptoe, 
and  are  compelled  to  exchange  their  usual  erect  position 
for  one  in  which  the  neck  is  curved,  and  the  head  brought 
down  to  the  level  of  the  knees.  The  pullet  has  most 
points  in  common  with  the  cock ;  her  head  is  beautiful ; 
the  comb  small,  very  upright,  with  many  indentations ; 
the  face,  if  I  may  use  the  term,  intelligent.  Her  body  is 
much  deeper  in  proportion  than  that  of  the  cock ;  her 
fluff  is  softer,  having  almost  a  silky  texture ;  her  carriage 
is  less  erect.  She  has  none  of  the  falling  feathers  at  the 
tail,  but  the  little  she  has  is  upright,  and  should  come  to 
a  blunt  point,  nothing  like  the  regular  rounded  tails  of 
other  hens.  In  both,  the  legs  should  be  yellow,  and  well 
feathered  to  the  toes ;  flesh  colored  legs  are  admissible, 
but  green,  black,  or  white  are  defects.     In  buying  them 


COCHIN   CHINA   FOWTL.  65 

tt'void  long  tails,  clean  legs,  fifth  toes,  and  double  combs 
above  all,  take  care  the  cock  has  not,  nor  ever  has  had, 
sickle  feathers. 

The  colors  are  buff,  lemon,  cinnamon,  grouse,  partridge, 
white  and  black ;  they  are  very  good  layers,  laying  at  a 
certain  age,  without  any  regard  to  Aveather  or  time  of 
year,  beginning  soon  after  they  are  five  months  old.  The 
snow  may  fall,  the  frost  may  be  thick  on  your  windows 
when  you  first  look  out  on  a  December  morning,  but  your 
Cochins  will  provide  you  eggs. 

They  do  not  loose  tlieir  qualities  as  they  get  older,  but 
they  lose  their  beauty  sooner  than  any  other,  and  every 
year  seems  to  increase  the  difficulty  of  moulting.  The  age 
of  beauty  in  a  Cochin-China  fowl  is  from  nine  to  eighteen 
months.  After  this  the  hens  become  coarse ;  their  feath- 
ers grow  with  difficulty;  their  fluff  is  a  long  time 
coming,  and  the  beautiful,  intelligent  head  is  exchanged 
for  an  old,  care-worn  expression  of  face.  The  tails  of  the 
cocks  increase  as  they  get  older. 

Mr.  Stretch,  the  eminent  Cochin  fancier,  in  writing  to 
Mrs.  Ferguson  Blair,  authoress  of  "  The  Hen  Wife,"  says : 
— "  This  breed  has  a  great  disposition  to  accumulate  ab- 
dominal fat,  and  consequently  their  food  should  not  be 
of  too  rich  a  quality.  Those  who  feed  Indian  meal  or 
corn,  (which  contains  about  8  per  cent,  of  oily  matter) 
have  frequent  cases  of  apoplexy  among  their  poultry. 
Boiled  potatoes  should  form  a  great  portion  of  their  daily 
food.  There  is  another  reason  why  Cochins  should  not 
be  kept  in  too  high  condition ;  the  eggs  of  such  seldom 
produce  chickens,  and  in  a  short  time  barrenness  ensues." 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  favor  of  their  gentleness 
and  contented  disposition ;  a  fence  four  feet  high  suffices 
to  keep  them  from  wandering,  and  they  allow  themselves 
to  be  taken  from  their  perch  and  replaced,  to  be  handled, 
exhibited,  or  made  any  use  of,  without  tho  least  opposi- 


66  DOMESTIC   POULTRY. 

tion.  They  are  also  most  valuable  in  a  yard  as  layers 
during  the  winter  months,  and  sitters  early  in  the  year. 
They  are  broody  when  others  are  beginning  to  lay. 


HAMBURG      FOWLS. 

It  is  not  definitely  known  where  this  breed  of  fowl 
originated ;  some  assign  its  origin  to  Hamburg  or  vicinity, 
others  to  Holland.  The  pencilled  Hamburg  fowl  is  a 
beautiful  bird.  There  are  two  sorts,  the  golden  and  the 
silver;  they  differ  in  one  respect  only,  the  fundamental 
color  of  one  is  white  and  the  other  a  brown  yellow ;  one 
description  will  serve  for  both.  They  have  bright  double 
combs,  which  should  be  firmly  fixed  on  the  head,inclining 
to  neither  side,  nor  even  being  loose,  ending  in  a  point 
which  should  turn  upwards ;  clear  hackles,  either  white 
or  yellow ;  taper  blue  legs,  and  ample  tails ;  bodies  and 
tails  accurately  pencilled  with  black  everywhere  except 
the  neck.  The  more  correct  the  marking,  the  more  valu- 
able the  bird.  Their  carriage  is  gay  and  proud;  their 
shape  is  symmetrical,  and  their  appearance  is  altogether 
indicative  of  cheerfulness,  and  carries  an  air  of  enjoyment 
which  always  prepossesses  one  in  their  favor. 

The  plumage  of  the  cocks  differs  somewhat  from  the 
hens.  They  are  very  little  speckled,  if  at  all,  except 
while  chickens,  when  the  wings  and  hinder  parts  are 
marked  ;  but  this  seldom  lasts  after  the  first  month.  In 
the  silver  variety  the  cock  is  almost  white,  having  some- 
times a  chestnut  patch  on  the  wing,  and  towards  the  tail 
some  black  spots,  but  these  disappear  as  he  gets  older 
The  tail  should  be  black  and  the  sickle-feathers  tinged 


HAMBURG   FOWL.  67 

with  a  reddish  white ;  while,  in  the  golden  cock,  they 
should  be  shaded  with  a  rich  bronze  or  copper.  The  cock 
of  the  golden  variety  is  red  all  over,  and  must  have  well 
defined  white  deaf-ears. 

No  fowls  require  more  watching  than  these,  if  it  be  de- 
sired to  breed  them  for  exhibition.  Degeneracy  shows 
itself  in  the  cocks  either  by  the  black  tail,  or  one  in 
which  white  or  silver  predominates,  or  by  the  absence  of 
the  white  deaf-ear — all  these  must  be  fatal  to  success.  In 
the  hens  it  is  apparent  in  spotted  hackles,  and  in  patchy 
plumage.  The  delicate  and  distinct  pencilling  is  lost, 
and  a  cloudy,  uneven  mixture  takes  its  place.  This  is  fa- 
tal to  them  as  first-class  birds. 

The  great  virtue  and  merit  of  these  fowls  are,  they  are 
prodigious  layers  ;  and  this  is  not  brought  about  by  any 
undue  feeding ;  it  is  their  nature.  They  are  said  never  to 
sit,  and  as  a  rule  it  is  true  of  them ;  but  one  in  a  thousand 
deviates  from  it.  And  then  only  when  they  have  a  run 
through  grounds  covered  with  wood,  thereby  clearly  de- 
monstating  the  fact  that  artificial  life  has  impaired  their 
sitting  powers — originally  they  must  have  hatched  their 
eggs  like  other  fowls.  They  are  exoellent  guards  in  the 
country ;  for,  when  disturbed  in  their  roosting-place,  they 
are  the  noisiest  of  the  noisy,  and  nothing  but  death  or 
liberty  will  induce  them  to  hold  their  peace.  In  these,  as 
in  other  birds,  erroneous  ideas  and  names  have  crept  in ; 
some  being  correct  descriptions  of  the  same  fowl  under 
another  name,  but  others  being  imaginative,  so  far  as 
real  Hamburg  fowls  are  concerned. 

■  The  Bolton  grays  and  bays,  and  Chitteprats  are  identi- 
cal with  the  Hamburg ;  they  were  also  called  Turkish  and 
Creoles,  which  were  the  same  as  a  general  rule,  it  may  be 
observed.  No  true-bred  Hamburg  fowl  has  top-knot, 
single  comb,  white  legs,  any  approach  to  feather  on  the 
legs,  white  tail,  or  spotted  hackle. 


68  DOMESTIC   POTTLTRT. 

POLAND      FOWLS. 

The  original  Poland  fowls  were  black,  with  white  top- 
knots, and  gold  and  silver  spangled.  There  was  formerly 
a  breed  of  white,  with  black  top-knot,  but  that  is  lost. 
There  are  now,  white,  black  aad  spangled.  The  crest  of 
the  Poland  cock  should  be  composed  of  straight  feathers, 
something  like  those  of  a  hackle  or  saddle ;  they  should 
grow  from  the  center  of  the  crown,  and  fall  over  outside, 
foriniQg  a  circular  crest.  That  of  the  hen  should  be  made 
up  of  feathers  growing  out,  and  turning  in  at  the. extrem- 
ity, till  they  form  a  large  top-knot,  which  should  in  shape 
resemble  a  cauliflower.  It  should  be  as  nearly  round  as 
possible,  and  firm.  The  largest  top-knots  are  often  made 
up  of  loose  feathers,  that  give  it  an  uneven  appearance. 
Now,  however  large  these  may  be,  they  cannot  compare 
or  compete  with  symmetrical  and  firm,  though  smaller 
ones ;  the  cari'iage  is  upright,  and  the  breast  more  protu- 
berant than  in  any  other  fowl  save  the  Sebright  Bantam  ; 
the  body  is  very  round  and  full,  slightly  tapering  to  the 
tail,  which  is  carried  erect,  and  which  is  ample,  spreading 
towards  the  extremity  in  the  hen,  and  having  wellrdefined 
sickle-feathers ;  in  the  cock,  the  legs  should  be  lead-color- 
ed or  black,  and  rather  short  than  otherwise.  In  the 
black  variety  there  should  be  no  white  feathers,  save  in 
the  top-knot ;  in  that  it  is  desirable  there  should  be  no 
black  ones,  but  I  have  never  yet  seen  any  without  them. 
It  is  a  very  common  practice  to  cut  them  off  close  to  the 
skin,  so  that  it  appears  pei-fect,  but  at  the  first  moult  they 
re-appear. 

In  the  golden  and  silver  varieties,  the  spajigling  of  the 
feathers  should  be  black,  and  as  correct  and  regular  as  pos- 
sible ;  the  ground-color  should  be  rich  golden  tint  in  the 
one,  and  frosted  silver  in  the  other.  In  both  cocks  and 
hens  the  wings  should  be  laced ;  each  feather  should  havo 


70  DOMESTIC   POULTRY. 

a  black  marking  running  the  length  of  it,  and  when  the 
wing  is  closed,  it  should  show  three  or  four  stripes,  termi- 
nated on  each  feather  by  a  distinct  hackle.  There  exists 
a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  marking  of  the  breasts  of 
the  cock ;  some  like  it  dark,  others  spangled ;  English 
fanciers  prefer  the  latter.  Spangled  varieties  should  have 
top-knots  the  same  color  as  the  fowls ;  every  feather 
should  be  laced  like  those  of  the  Sebright  Bantam,  al- 
though it  is  very  difficult  to  obtain  them  quite  so  distinct, 
many  showing  white  feathers,  which  increase  as  the  birds 
grow  older. 

In  the  cocks  of  the  black  breed,  with  white  top-knots, 
gills  are  allowed,  but  no  combs.  For  golden  and  silver 
spangled,  neither  combs  nor  gills,  nor  even  the  least 
spikes,  can  be  tolerated.  These  birds  are  very  subject  to 
deformity,  and  crooked  backs  are  common  among  them. 
The  amateur  who  wishes  to  purchase  will  do  well,  when 
he  holds  the  birds  in  his  left  hand,  to  lay  the  palm  of  his 
right  flat  on  its  back.  In  passing  it  gently  down  he  will 
often  detect  one  hip  higher  than  the  other,  or  he  will  find 
a  curve  in  the  backbone  from  the  hips  to  the  tail.  ,  As 
these  are  transmitted  to  their  offspring,  and  it  is  often 
difficult  to  get  good  crosses,  such  birds  should  always  be 
rejected. 


BANTAMS. 

Bantams  have  long  been  favorites ;  their  small  size, 
their  beauty,  and  their  impudence  gaining  them  admirers. 
Many  years  since,  only  those  that  were  feathered  to  the 
toes  were  admired.  The  late  John  Sebright,  by  much  at- 
tention and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject,  succeed- 
ed in  producing  birds  of  surpassing  beauty  and  symmetry. 
Those  that  bear  this  name  are  the  most  appreciated  by 


BANTAM  FOWL.  71 

fanciers.  They  are  of  two  colors,  gold  and  silver;  they 
must  have  double  combs,  with  pointed  end  and  rising  up- 
wards, and  well-seated  on  the  head,  firmly  fixed,  not  in- 
clining to  one  side,  nor  yet  raised  on  a  fleshy  pedestal ; 
laced  feathers,  each  being  edged  with  black ;  blue  legs, 
without  even  the  sign  of  a  feather  on  them ;  upright  tail, 
tipped  with  black  at  the  point,  which  must  be  round  and 
equal  in  width  to  the  widest  part  of  the  feather;  there 
should  not  be  even  a  tendency  to  a  curve  in  it.  The  side 
tail-feathers  rising  from  the  back  to  the  tail  should  also 
be  flat,  round-topped  and  accurately  laced.  There  must 
not  be  any  hackle  or  saddle.  These  are  the  principal 
points  of  the  male.  The  hen  requires  the  same  comb,  the 
same  accurate  lacing,  the  prominent  breast,  drooping 
wing ;  her  head  should  be  very  small,  beak  sharp.  The 
carriage  of  these  birds  should  resemble  that  of  a  good 
Fantail  pigeon ;  the  head  and  tail  should  be  carried  up  in 
the  strut  of  the  bird,  till  they  nearly  meet,  and  the  wing 
should  drop  down  the  side,  instead  of  being  carried  up. 
In  both  sexes  the  wing-feathers  should  be  tipped  with 
black,  and  even  the  long  feathers  laced.  Like  all  other 
first-class  birds,  these  are  difiicult  to  get ;  and  lest  ama- 
teurs should  be  discouraged,  I  may  almost  venture  to  say, 
a  faultless  bird  is  hardly  to  be  found.  From  the  best-bred 
parents,  single-combed  chickens  will  constantly  appear, 
but  these  will  again  produce  perfectly  double-combed 
progeny.  Such  are,  however,  only  to  be  trusted,  when 
the.  possessor  of  them  is  sure  that,  although  defective 
themselves,  their  parents  were  faultless  in  this  particular. 
It  is  never  advisable  to  breed  from  a  faulty  bird,  if  a  per- 
fect one  can  be  obtained.  Small  size  is  a  desideratum  in 
these  fowls.  They  are,  therefore,  seldom  bred  early,  as 
growth  is  not  desired.  July  is  early  enough  to  hatch 
them.  Perfect  cocks  should  not  weigh  more  than  seven- 
teen ounces,  nor  hens  more  than  fourteen. 


\ 


cm 


LEGHORN   BBEBD.  73 

Other  Bantams,  to  pretend  to  excellence,  should  be  di- 
minutive as  the  Sebrijrht,  and  should  have  the  same  arro- 
gant gait ;  but  they  differ,  inasmuch  as  the  males  should 
be  large  cocks  in  miniature,  with  hackle,  saddle,  and  fully 
developed  tail.  The  rule  of  comb  is  not  so  imperative.  In 
black  and  white  birds  it  should  be  double ;  but  it  is  not  so 
necessary,  nor  does  the  substitution  of  a  single  one  cause 
disqualification.  In  the  black  breeds,  white  deaf-ears  are 
necessary  to  excellence ;  and  in  these  and  the  white  the 
sickle-feathers  should  be  long  and  well  carried.  Feather- 
ed-legged Bantams  may  be  of  any  color.  The  old-fashion- 
ed birds  were  very  small,  falcon-hocked,  and  feathered 
with  long  quill-feathers  to  the  extremity  of  the  toe.  Many 
of  them  were  bearded — they  are  now  very  scarce.  The 
Bantams  are  good  layers,  sitters  and  mothers,  and  easily 
reared. 


THE    LEGHORN    FOWLS. 

Within  a  few  years  past  fowls,  known  as  Leghorns, 
have  attained  some  considerable  notoriety — so  far  as  I  am 
aware,  they  ai'e  entirely  unknown  among  the  poultry  fan- 
ciers of  Great  Britain,  and  for  my  own  part  I  have  been 
led  to  avoid  breeding  them,  from  the  impression,  be  it 
well  or  ill-founded,  that  the  characteristics  were  not  suf- 
ficiently established  to  enable  one  to  breed  them  true  to 
feather  and  points,  and  to  entitle  them  to  consideration  as 
a  distinct  breed.  However,  since  the  publication  of  the 
first  edition  of  this  little  book,  I  am  convinced  that  fowls, 
which  have  gained  so  fast  in  public  favor,  must  have 
something  to  recommend  them,  and  may  at  least  be  com- 
mended as  worthy  the  attention  of  breeders. 

Their  uniform  characteristics,  as  I  at  present  view  them, 
are  these :  — 
4 


74  DOMBSHC  POUXTET. 

Medium  size,  persistent  as  layers,  being  poor  sitters  or 
non-sitters,  having  fair  fattening  qualities,  and  very  good 
flesh.  They  are  besides  hardy,  suffei-ing  from  severe 
weather  much  less  than  the  Spanish.  With  this  breed 
they  are  evidently  closely  allied,  having  all  single  combs, 
large  white  ear-lobes,  and  in  many  cases  partly  white  faces, 
and  in  the  best  specimens  something  of  the  style  of  that 
justly  favorite  breed. 

There  have  been  several  importations  of  the  common 
fowls  of  Leghorn  and  its  vicinity,  made  of  late.  These 
birds  are  of  all  colors,  except  black ;  the  light  colors  pre- 
vailing, and  they  have  none  of  the  marks  of  a  pure  breed, 
although  they  possess  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  the  pre- 
vailing characteristics  just  given.  These  are  called  Leg- 
horns, and  are  to  be  distinguished  from  the  white  Leg- 
horns^ which,  in  the  hands  of  some  fancies,  have  some 
claim  to  being  well  bred. 

THE  WHITE   LEGHORNS. 

These  are  hardy,  medium-sized  fowls  of  a  quiet  dispo- 
sition, persistent  layers,  of  a  pure  white  color  (though 
in  most  flocks  occasional  colored  feathers  make  trouble,) 
with  prevailingly  yellow  legs  (flesh-colored  and  slate  colored 
legs  occurring  now  and  then.)  They  lay  a  smaller  egg 
than  the  Spanish,  but  are  said  to  mature  earlier  and  to  be 
superior  for  the  table.  The  white  color  at  least  makes 
pin-feathers  less  noticeable  in  young  fowls  when  prepared 
for  market.  The  cocks  have  large  single  combs,  which 
should  be  perfectly  erect,  full  wattles  and  large  white  ear- 
lobes,  the  white  extending  sometimes  upon  their  face. 
The  hens  have  delicate  combs,  usually  large,  and  general- 
ly lopping  like  those  of  Spanish  hens.  Their  wattles  are 
also  large,  and  tlieir  ear-lobes  white. 

There  is  certainly  here  a  foundation  for  the  production 


PBENCH   BREEDS   OF  FOWLS.  75 

of  a  fine  breed,  and  if  those  who  breed  them  in  numbei  j 
will  carefully  adopt  a  system  of  points  to  breed  for  per- 
fection in, — such  points  as  their  characteristics  obviously 
suggest — they  will  surely  maintain  their  piesent  populari- 
ty, and  establish  a  beautifiil  and  useful  breed. 

No  bird  that  shows  any  thing  but  "  the  white  feather  " 
should  be  used  for  breeding  stock ;  nor  should  one,  whose 
legs  are  of  any  but  a  yellow  color,  or  whose  chickens  do 
not  come  true.  No  cock  with  a  small  drooping  or  crook- 
ed comb,  or  with  colored  ear-lobes,  or  with  craven  car- 
riage or  lacking  in  beauty,  symmetry,  size,  style,  consti- 
tution or  vigor,  should  be  kept  in  the  yard.  No  hen 
should  be  kept  which  does  not  exhibit  all  useful  charac- 
teristics, together  with  the  drooping  comb  and  white 
ear-lobes,  quiet  demeanor,  and  the  laying  and  non-sitting 
qualities  of  the  breed. 


FRENCH  BREEDS  OF  FOWLS. 

Within  the  last  two  or  three  years  some  valuable  im 
portations  of  new  breeds  of  poultry  have  been  made  int( 
England  and  lately  into  the  United  States,  from  France, 
They  have  become  sufficiently  known  and  appreciated  to 
demand  our  attention ;  and,  in  giving  #  notice  of  them 
(which  I  do  now  more  fully  than  in  ray  first  edition,  by 
reason  of  the  great  inferest  already  exhibited  concerning 
them.)  I  admit  my  obligation  to  the  excellent  work  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  Ch.  Jacquo,  in  Paris,  entitled  "  Le  Pou- 
lailler,"  which  enables  me  to  give  many  details  that  would 
otherwise  be  wanting,  and  which  are  fully  corroborated  by 
Mr.  Geo.  K.  Geyeline,  in  his  "  Poultry  Breeding  in  a  Com- 
mercial Point  of  View."     [See  Appendix.] 


(W) 


PBBNCH   BREEDS    OP  FOWLS.  77 

THE  HOTJDAN. 

This  bird  has  short  thick  legs,  and  a  round,  well-pro- 
portioned body,  large  head,  small  top-knot,  falling  back- 
ward. It  is  bearded,  and  has  five  toes  on  each  foot.  It 
is  a  good-sized  fowl,  weighing,  when  fully  grown*— cock, 
6  lbs. ;  hen,  from  4|  to  5  lbs.  The  plumage  should  be 
speckled,  white,  black,  and  straw  color.  The  comb  is  the 
most  remarkable  part  of  this  bird ;  and  I  can  not  do  bet- 
ter than  quote  my  before-named 
authority :  "  Comb,  triple,  trans- 
versely in  the  direction  of  the 
beak,  composed  of  two  flattened 
spikes,  of  long  and  rectangular 
form,  opening  from  right  to  left 
like  two  leaves  of  a  book,  thick, 
fleshy,  and  irregular  at  the 
edges.  A  third  spike  grows  be- 
tween these  two,  having  some- 
what the  shape  of  an  irregular  , 
strawberry,  and  the  size  of  a 
long  nut.  Another,  quite  de- 
tached from  the  others  and  about  the  size  of  a  pen,  should 
show  between  the  nostrils  and  above  the  beak."  Tliis 
gives  the  bird  a  grotesque  appearance,  and  tliere  is  an  air 
of  impudent  drollery  and  humor  about  him  that  is  pecu- 
liar to  the  breed.  The  legs  are  dark  leaden  grey.  In  this 
breed  the  hens  approach  more  nearly  the  weight  of  the 
cock  than  is  usual.  The  hen  is  bearded  and  top-knotted, 
the  latter  appendage  almost  concealing  the  eyes.  These 
are  very  popular,  botb  as  layers  and  as  table-fowls. 


HEAD   OF  nOODAN   COCK. 


THE    CKEVECOEUE. 


This  is  better  known  than  any  of  the  French  fowl ;  it 
is  one  of  the  best  layers,  not  only  on  account  of  number, 


78 


DOMESTIC  POULTRY. 


but  also  of  the  size  of  the  eggs,  being  equal  in  this  respect 
to  the  Spanish.  It  is  a  short-legged  breed,  square-bodied, 
deep-chested,  well  shaped  for  the  table. 

Lik^most  of  these  breeds,  it  is  bearded  and  top-knot- 
ted, but  the  latter  appendage  is  not  like  that  of  the  Poland. 
It  is  more  like  a  crest,  and  allows  room  in  front  for  the 


CREVECCEUB  COCK. 


comb.  This  is  singularly  shaped,  and  I  shall  again  quote 
Mr.  Jacque:  "Comb  various,  but  always  forming  two 
hwns ;  sometimes  parallel,  straight  and  fleshy,  sometimes 
joined  at  the  base,  slightly  notched,  pointed,  and  separat- 
ing at  their  extremities ;  sometimes  adding  to  this  latter 
description  intei-ior  ramifications  like  the  horns  of  a  young 
deer."    The  same  author  says :    "  The  comb,  shaped  like 


PBEKCH   BREEDS    OF   E0WL8. 


79 


horns,  gives  the  Crevecoeur  the  appearance  of  a  devil." 
The  legs  should  be  black,  or  very  dark  slate  blue.  The 
plumage  should  be  entirely  black,  with  bright  blue  and 

metallic  lustre,  except  the 
feathers  of  the  belly,  which 
are  dark-brown.  The  top- 
knot, as  in  Polands,  will 
become  partly  white,  after 
moulting  two  or  three 
times.  Mrs.  Ferguson  Blair 
says,  she  has  bred  these 
birds  largely  and  continues 
to  do  so,  which  is  a  sure 
proof  of  the  consideration 
of  which  she  thinks  this  variety  worthy. 

Many  have  their  hackles,  saddles,  and  wing-coverts 
straw  color.  These  are  not  less  pure,  and  they  will  breed 
black  chickens ;  but  they  arc  less  esteemed  by  very  par- 
ticular amateurs.  The  hens  should  weigh  from  5  lbs.  to  6 
lbs.  each ;  the  cock,  7  lbs.  to  7^  lbs.  Just  as  the  Houdau 
has  a  roguish  air  and  deportment,  so  the  Crevecoeur  is 
staid,  solemn,  and  gi*ave. 


COMBS   OF  CBEVBC<EOK   COCKS. 


LA   FLECHE. 


This  is  singular  bird,  and  no  description  will  serve  bet- 
ter than  that  of  Mr.  Jacque ;  "  A  strong,  firm  body,  well 
seated  on  its  legs,  and  long  muscular  feet.  Apj^earing 
less  than  it  really  is,  because  the  feathers  are  close  ;  every 
muscular  part  well  developed ;  black  plumage.  The  La 
Fleche  is  the  tallest  of  all  French  cocks ;  it  has  many 
points  of  resemblance  with  the  Spanish,  from  which  I  be- 
lieve to  be  descended,  by  crossing  with  the  Crevecojur.  It 
has  white,  loose,  and  transparent  skin ;  short,  juicy,  and 
delicate  flesh,  which  puts  on  fat  easily.     As  layers  they 


80  DOMKSTIO   POULTRY. 

are  superior,  like  the  Crevecceur,  to  any  breed  except  the 
Spanish ;  but  yet,  for  table  use,  they  are  not  as  good  as 
the  Dorking. 

The  La  Fleche  has  the  body  of  the  Spanish  placed  on 
legs  that  are  forward,  being  immediately  under  the  breast 
rather  than  the  body  of  the  bird.  It  has  a  bold,  cheerful, 
lively  face ;  but  the  general  impression  is  curious  from  the 
extraordinary  comb,  which  I  will  describe  from  M.  Jacque : 
"  Transversly  double,  forming  two  horns  bending  forward, 
united  at  their  base,  divided  at  their  summits;  sometimes 
even  and  pointed,  sometimes  having  ramifications  on  the 
inner  sides.  A  little  combling  protrudes  from  the  upper 
part  of  the  nostrils ;  and,  although  hardly  as  large  as  a 
pea,  this  combling,  which  surmounts  the  sort  of  rising 
formed  by  the  protrusion  of  the  nostrils, 
contributes  to  the  singular  aspect  of  the 
head.  This  measured  prominence  of  the 
comb  seems  to  add  to  the  characteristic 
depression  of  the  beak,  and  gives  the  bird 
a  likeness  to  a  rhinoceros." 

It  should  have  a  large   deat-ear,   per- 
coMB  oi'  LA      fectly  white,  not  so  large  as  the  Spanish, 
FLKCHE.  but  larger  than  that  of  any  other  fowl, 

slate-blue  legs,  darker  or  lighter  according  to  age,  tvirniyg 
to  a  spotted  grey  as  they  get  old.  The  hen  differs  from 
the  cock  by  having  a  smaller  comb ;  she  must  have  a  white 
ear-lobe.  These  are  a  peculiar  but  a  stylish  breed ;  they 
are  very  good  layers,  and  the  chickens  are  easy  to  rear. 


DOMESTIC  TUEKEY.  81 


THE    DOMESTIC    TURKEY, 

BREEDING   AND   MANAGEMENT. 

« 

The  domestic  turkey  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  divided, 
like  the  common  fowl,  into  distinct  breeds ;  although  there 
is  indeed  considerable  variation  in  color,  and  also  in  size. 
The  finest  and  strongest  turkeys  are  said  to  be  those  of  a 
bronzed  black,  resembling  as  closely  as  possible  the  original 
stock ;  they  are  reared  the  most  easily,  are  large,  and  fat- 
ten rapidly.  Some  turkeys  are  of  a  coppery  tint,  others  of 
a  delicate  fawn  color,  others  parti-colored  gray  and  white, 
and  some  few  of  a  pure  snowy  white.  All  these  are  con- 
sidered inferior  to  the  black ;  their  color  indicates  some- 
thing like  degeneracy  of  constitution,  and  they  are  seldom 
very  large-sized. 

To  describe  the  domestic  turkey  is  superfluous;  the  voice 
of  the  male,  the  changing  colors  of  the  skin  of  the  head 
and  neck ;  his  proud  strut,  with  expanded  tail  and  lowered 
wings  jarring  on  the  ground ;  his  irrascibility,  readily  ex- 
cited by  red  or  scarlet  colors,  are  characteristics  with  which 
all  are  conversant.  Turkey-cocks  are  pugnacious  and  vin- 
dictive, and  often  ill-treat  the  hens  ;  they  have  been  known 
to  attack  children ;  and  combats  between  them  and  the 
game-cock  have  taken  place,  in  which  the  latter  was  more 
oppressed  by  the  weight  of  his  antagonist  than  by  gladia- 
torial skill ;  in  fact,  the  bulky  hero  has  usually  been  worsted, 
as  he  cannot  use  his  spurs,  with  the  address  exhibited  by 
the  game-cock,  which,  moreover,  fights  with  method. 

The  adult  turkey  is  extremely  hardy,  and  bears  the  cold 
of  our  winter  with  impunity ;  during  the  severest  weather, 
flocks  will  roost  at  night  upon  the  branches  of  tall  trees, 
preferring  such  accomodation  to  an  indoor  dormitory. 


,82 


DOMESTIC   POULTRY. 


BRONZE  TtJRKEY  GOBBLER. 

The  impatience  of  restraint  and  restlessness  of  the  turkey 
render  it  unfit  company  for  fowls  in  their  roosting-places ; 
in  fact,  the  fowl-house  is  altogether  an  improper  place  for 
these  large  birds,  which  require  open  sheds  and  high  per- 
ches, and,  altogether,  as  much  freedom  as  is  consistent 
with  their  safety.  Although  turkeys  wi'il  roost,  even  during 


DOMESTIC  TURKEY.  83 

the  winter  months,  on  trees,  this  should  by  no  means  be 
allowed  ;  the  feet  of  the  birds  are  apt  to  become  frozen 
from  such  exposure  to  the  air.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  the  domestic  turkey,  hardy  as  it  is  when  adult,  is  not 
equal  in  point  of  endurance  to  its  wild  relative,  bred  in  the 
woods  and  inured  to  the  elements.  Turkeys  are  fond  of 
wandering  about  hedgerows  and  the  borders  of  fields ; 
they  love  to  visit  turnip-fields,  where,  besides  the  leaves 
of  turnips,  which  they  relish,  they  find  insects,  slugs,  etc., 
which  they  greedily  devour. 

In  the  morning  they  should  have  a  good  supply  of  grain, 
and  after  their  return  from  their  peregrinations,  another 
f(!ed ;  by  this  plan  not  only  will  the  due  return  home  of 
the  flock  be  insured,  but  the  birds  will  be  kept  in  good  con- 
dition, and  ready  at  any  time  to  be  put  upon  fattening  diet. 

In  the  choice  of  birds  for  stock,  care  is  requisite.  The 
cock  should  be  vigorous,  broad  in  the  breast,  clean  in  the 
legs,  with  ample  wings  and  a  well-developed  tail-plumage  ; 
his  eyes  should  be  bright,  and  the  carunculated  skin  of  the 
neck  full  and  rapid  in  its  changes  of  color.  The  hen  should 
be  like  the  cock  in  plumage ;  those  with  white  feathers 
appearing  amidst  the  black  should  be  rejected  ;  her  figure 
should  be  plump,  and  her  actiions  lively  and  animated. 
The  hen  breeds  when  a  year  old,  or  rather  in  the  spring 
succeeding  that  in  which  she  herself  left  the  egg  ;  but  she 
is  not  in  her  prime  until  the  age  of  two  or  three  years,  and 
will  continue  for  two  or  three  years  more  in  full  constitu- 
tional vigor. 

About  the  middle  of  March,  generally  speaking,  the 
female  commences  laying ;  she  indicates  the  coming  event 
by  a  peculiar  cry,  by  strutting  about  with  an  air  of  self- 
satisfaction,  and  often  by  prying  into  out-of-the-way  places, 
evidently  in  quest  of  a  secret  spot  for  incubation ;  for  the 
instinctive  dread  of  the  male  is  not  removed  by  domestica- 
tion, nor  has  the  male  lost  that  antipathy  to  the  eggs  which 


S4 


DOMESTIC  POULTET. 


is  his  characteristic  in  a  state  of  nature.  She  should  now 
be  closely  watched,  and  some  management  is  required  to 
induce  her  to  lay  in  the  nest  assigned  to  her.  The  nest 
should  be  prepared  of  straw  and  dried  leaves ;  it  should  be 
secluded ;  and  to  excite  her  to  adopt  it,  an  egg^  or  a  piece 
of  chalk  cut  into  the  form  of  an  egg,  should  be  placed  in 


BRONZE  HEN-TURKEY. 


it.  When  her  uneasiness  to  lay  is  evident,  and  symptoms 
prove  that  she  is  ready,  she  should  be  confined  in  the  shed, 
barn,  or  place  in  which  her  nest  (which  should  be  a  wicker 
basket)  is  prepared,  and  let  out  as  soon  as  the  egg  is  laid. 
The  turkey-hen  is  a  steady  sitter ;  nothing  will  induce  her 
to  leave  her  nest ;  indeed,  she  often  requires  to  be  removed 


DOMESTIC  TURKEY.  86 

to  her  food,  so  overpowering  is  her  instinctive  affection. 
The  hen  should  on  no  account  be  rashly  disturbed,  no  one 
except  the  person  to  whom  she  is  accustomed,  and  from 
whom  she  receives  her  food,  should  be  allowed  to  go  near 
her,  and  the  eggs  should  not  be  meddled  with.  On  about 
the  twenty-sixth  day,  the  chicks  leave  the  eggs,  and  these, 
like  young  fowls,  do  not  require  food  for  several  hours.  It 
is  useless  to  cram  them  as  some  do,  fearing  lest  they  should 
starve.  When  the  chicks  feel  an  inclination  for  food, 
nature  directs  them  how  to  pick  it  up.  There  is  no  oc- 
casion for  alarm  if  for  many  hours  they  content  themselves 
with  the  warmth  of  their  parent  and  enjoy  her  care  only. 
Yet  some  food  must  be  provided  for  them,  and  this  should 
be  of  course  suited  to'  their  nature  and  appetite ;  here, 
too,  let  the  simplicity  of  nature  be  a  guide. 

The  first  diet  offered  to  turkey-chicks  should  consist  of 
eggs  boiled  hard  and  finely  mixed,  or  curd  with  bread- 
crumbs and  the  green  part  of  onions,  parsley,  etc.,  chopped 
very  smaU  and  mixed  together  so  as  to  form  a  loose, 
crumby  paste ;  oatmeal  with  a  little  water  may  also  be 
given.  They  will  require  water ;  but  this  should  be  put 
into  a  very  shallow  vessel,  so  as  to  insure  against  the 
danger  of  the  chicks  getting  wet.  Both  the  turkey-hen 
and  her  chickens  should  be  housed  for  a  few  days;  they 
may  then,  if  the  weather  be  fine,  be  allowed  a  few  hours' 
Uberty  during  the  day,  but  should  a  shower  threaten,  they 
must  be  put  immediately  under  shelter.  This  system  muifc 
be  persevered  in  for  three  or  four  weeks.  By  this  time 
they  will  have  acquired  considerable  strength,  and  will 
know  how  to  take  care  of  themselves.  As  they  get  older, 
"mfial  and  grain  may  be  given  more  freely.  They  now 
begin  to  search  for  insects  and  to  dust  their  growing  plu- 
mage in  the  sand.  At  the  age  of  about  two  months,  or 
perhaps  a  little  more,  the  males  and  females  begin  to 
develop  their  distinctive  characteristics. 


86  DOMESTIC  POULTRY. 

In  the  youVig  males,  the  carunculated  skiu  of  the  neck 
and  throat,  and  the  contractile  horn-like  comb  on  the  fore 
head,  assume  a  marked  character.  This  is  a  critical  period. 
The  system  requires  a  full  supply  of  nutriment  and  good 
housing  at  night  is  essential.  Some  recommend  that  a 
few  grains  of  Cayenne  pepper,  or  a  little  bruised  hempseed, 
be  mixed  with  their  food.  The  distinctive  sexual  marks 
once  fairly  established,  the  young  birds  lose  the  name 
of  "chicks,"  or  "chickens,"  and  are  termed  "turkey- 
poults."  The  time  of  danger  is  over,  and  they  become 
independent,  and  every  day  stronger  and  more  hardy. 
They  now  fare  as  the  rest  of  the  flock,  on  good  and  suf- 
ficient food. 

With  respect  to  the  diseases  of  the  turkey,  with  them  as 
with  all  other  poultry,  prevention  is  better  than  cure.  The 
most  important  rules  are,  let  the  chicks  never  get  wet,  and 
encourage  them  to  eat  heartily  by  giving  a  good  variety 
of  food;  yet  to  beware  of  injuring  the  appetite  by  too 
much  pampering.  Taking  a  pride  in  them  is  the  great 
secret  of  success  in  the  rearing  of  domestic  poultry. 


THE    GUINEA    FOWL. 

The  common  Guinea  fowl  is  a  native  of  Africa,  where  it 
s  ... 

appears  to  be  extensively  distributed.   It  frequents  the  open 

glades  and  borders  of  forests,  the  banks  of  rivers,  and  other 
localities  where  grain,  seeds,  berries,  insects,  etc.,  offer  an 
abundant  supply  of  food.  It  is  gregarious  in  its  habits,  asso- 
ciating in  considerable  flocks,  which  wander  about  during 
the  day  and  collect  together  on  the  approach  of  evening. 
They  roost  in  clusters  on  the  branches  of  trees  or  large 
bushes,  ever  and  anon  uttering  their  harsh,  grating  cry,  till 
they  settle  fairly  for  the  night.     The  Guinea  fowl  does  not 


GUINBA  FOWL.  87 

trust  much  to  its  wings  as  a  means  of  escape  from  danger  ; 
indeed  it  is  not  without  some  difficulty  that  these  birds  can 
be  forced  to  take  to  flight,  and  then  they  wing  their  way 
only  a  «hort  distance,  when  they  alight  and  trust  to  their 
swiftness  of  foot.  They  run  with  very  great  celerity,  are 
shy  and  wary,  and  seek  refuge  amongst  the  dense  under- 
wood, threading  the  mazes  of  their  covert  with  wonderful 
address.  The  female  incubates  in  some  concealed  spot  on 
the  ground.  Like  all  the  gallinaceous  birds,  the  Guinea  fowl 
is  esteemed  for  its  flesh  and  its  eggs,  which,  though  smaller 
than  those  of  the  common  fowl,  are  veiy  excellent  and  nu- 
merous. The  hen  commences  to  lay  in  the  month  of  May 
and  continues  during  the  entire  summer.  The  Guinea  fowl 
is  of  a  wild,  shy,  rambling  disposition  ;  and,  domesticated 
as  it  is,  pertinaciously  retains  its  original  habits,  and  is 
impatient  of  restraint.  It  loves  to  wander  along  hedge- 
rows, over  meadows,  through  corn-fields  or  clover,  and 
amidst  copses  and  shrubberies  ;  hence  these  birds  require 
careful  watching,  for  the  hens  will  lay  in  secret  places,  and 
will  sometimes  absent  themselves  entirely  from  the  farm- 
yard until  they  return  with  a  young  brood  around  them. 

So  ingeniously  will  they  conceal  themselves  and  their 
nest,  so  cautiously  leave  it  and  return  to  it,  as  to  elude  the 
searching  glance  of  boys  well  used  to  bird-nesting  ;  but  it 
may  always  be  found  from  the  watchful  presence  of  the 
cock  while  the  hen  is  laying.  There  is  one  disadvantage 
in  this — the  bird  will  sit  at  a  late  period,  and  bring  forth 
her  brood  when  the  season  is  too  cold  for  the  tender  chick- 
ens. The  best  plan  is,  to  contrive  that  the  hen  shall  lay  in 
a  quiet,  secluded  place,  and  to  give  about  twenty  of  the 
earliest  eggs  to  a  common  hen  ready  to  receive  them,  who 
will  perform  the  duties  of  incubation  with  steadiness.  In 
this  way  a  brood  in  June  can  be  easily  obtained.  The 
young  must  receive  the  same  treatment  as  those  of  the 
turkey,  and  equal  care  ;  they  require  a  mixture  of  boiled 


OO  DOMESTIC  POULTBT. 

vegetables,  with  curds,  farinaceous  food,  as  grits,  meal,  etc.; 
they  should  be  induced  to  eat  as  often  and  as  much  as  they 
will.  In  a  short  time  they  begin  to  search  for  insects  and 
their  larvae  ;  and  with  a  little  addition  to  such  a  fare  as  this, 
and  with  what  vegetable  matter  they  pick  up,  they  will  keep 
themselves  in  good  game  condition  without  cramming  or 
overfeeding.  For  a  week  or  two  before  being  kiUed  for 
the  table  they  should  have  a  liberal  allowance  of  grain  and 
meal.  Guinea  fowls  mate  in  pairs;  overlooking  this  cir- 
cumstance frequently  occasions  disappointment  in  the 
broods.  The  period  of  incubation  is  twenty-six  days. 
Though  they  are  not  unprofitable  birds,  as  they  are  capable 
of  procuring  alm6st  entirely  their  own  living,  they  are  re- 
jected by  many  on  account  both  of  their  wandering  habits, 
which  give  trouble,  and  their  disagreeable  voice.  The 
males  when  pugnaceous,  though  spurless,  are  capable  of  in- 
flicting considerable  injury  on  other  poultry  with  their 
stout,  hard  beaks. 

Like  their  wild  progenitors,  domestic  Guinea  fowls  pre- 
fer roosting  in  the  open  air  to  entering  a  fowl-house  ;  they 
generally  choose  the  lower  branches  of  some  tree,  or  those 
of  large  thick  bushes,  and  there  congregate  together  in 
close  array ;  before  going  to  roost  they  utter  frequent  calls 
to  each  other,  and  when  one  mounts,  the  others  follow  in 
rotation.     They  retire  early,  before  the  common  fowl. 

The  Guinea  fowl  is  not  so  large  a  bird  as  it  appears,  its 
loose,  full  plumage  making  it  seem  larger  than  it  is ;  it 
does  not,  when  plucked,  weigh  more  than  a  common  fowl. 
The  male  and  female  very  much  resemble  each  other  ;  the 
male,  however,  has  the  casque  higher,  and  the  wattles  are  of 
a  blueish  red — the  wattles  in  the  female  are  smaller,  and  red. 


DOMJKSTIC   GOOSE. 


89 


TOULOUSE   GEESE, 


THE    DOMESTIC    GOOSE. 

The  domestication  of  the  goose,  like  that  of  the  domes- 
tic fowl,  is  hidden  in  the  remotest  ages  of  antiquity. 
Among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  it  seems  to  have  been  the 
only  really  domesticated  water-fowl  they  possessed,  and 
appears  to  have  held  exactly  the  same  place  in  their  esteem 
that  it  still  retains  with  us  after  the  lapse  of  two  or  nearly 
three  thousand  years. 


90  DOMESTIC  POULTRY. 

Geese  require  a  dormitory  apart  from  other  poultry,  aud 
a  green  field,  or  common,  with  a  convenient  pond  of  wa- 
ter— often  at  command  in  the  country.  Let  not,  however, 
the  keeper  of  geese  suppose  that  their  daily  grazing  is  suf- 
ficient for  their  maintenance  in  proper  condition,  as  they 
require,  in  addition,  a  supply  of  grain,  oats  or  barley, 
morning  and  evening,  and  with  this  they  will  do  credit  to 
their  keep;  many  young  geese,  common-fed  only,  pine  and 
die  for  want  of  sufficient  nutriment.  Dysentery  attacks 
them,  accompanied  by  spasms  of  the  limbs,  or  cramps  as  it 
is  called ;  this  disease  is  aggravated  by  cold  and  wet,  their 
impoverished  system  is  destitute  of  stamina,  and  thus  a  fair 
flock  prospering  in  spring,  is  more  than  decimated  before 
autumn.  In  allowing  geese  to  range  at  large,  it  is  requi- 
site to  be  aware  that  tliey  are  very  destructive  to  all  garden 
and  farm  crops,  as  well  as  to  young  trees,  and  must  there- 
fore be  carefully  excluded  from  orchards  and  cultivated 
fields. 

If  we  travex'se  a  pasture  or  common,  on  which  geese 
are  kept,  we  find  the  flocks  of  the  respective  owners  keep- 
ing together :  and  if  by  chance  they  mingle  on  the  pond 
or  sheet  of  water,  they  separate  towards  evening,  and  re- 
tire each  flock  to  its  own  domicile.  On  extensive  com- 
mons where  many  thousands  of  geese  are  kept,  the  rule  is 
scarcely  ever  broken ;  the  flocks  of  young  geese  brought 
up  together,  as  their  parents  were  before  them,  form  a 
united  band,  and  thus  distinct  groups  herd  together,  bound 
by  the  ties  of  habit. 

Those  who  breed  geese  generally  assign  one  gander  to 
four  or  five  females.  In  mild  seasons  the  goose  lays  early. 
She  sits  with  exemplary  patience,  but  ought,  during  incu- 
bation, to  be  well  supplied  with  food  and  water,  placed  in[ 
a  convenient  and  undisturbed  situation,  to  which  she  may 
have  free  access.  The  gander  is  very  attentive  to  his  fa- 
vorite, sits  by  her,  and  is  vigilant  and  daring  in  her  defence. 


DOMBSTIC  GOOSS. 


91 


Like  young  turkeys,  goslings  are  about  a  month  in  hatch* 
nag.  Oil  the  first  day  after  the  goslings  are  hatched,  they 
may  be  let  out,  if  the  weathei  be  warm,  care  being  taken 
not  to  let  them  be  exposed  to  the  unshaded  heat  of  the 
sun,  which  might  kill  them,  the  food  given  is  prepared 


BHEMEN  OR  KIMBDEN  GEEBE. 


with  some  Indian  meal,  coarsely  ground  bran,  lettuce- 
leaves,  and  crusts  of  bread  boiled  in  milk.  To  such  gos- 
lings as  are  a  little  strong,  this  food  need  only  be  given 
twice  a  day,  morning  and  evening,  continuing  to  give  it  till 
the  wings  begin  to  cross  on  the  back,  and  after  this  a 
larger  amount  of  green  food  with  ahttle  corn,  wheat,  etc., 
morning  and  evening. 


92  DOMESTIC   POULTRY. 

The  principal  breeds  of  geese  are  the  China  Goose  (which 
is  also  called  the  Guinea  Goose,  Spanish  Goose,  African 
Goose,  and  a  host  of  other  names  in  the  English  tongue), 
Toulouse  Goose,   and  the  Bremen  or  Embdea  Goose. 

The  China  Goosk  lays  a  great  number  of  eggs,  and  a 
cross  between  it  and  the  Toulouse,  gives  a  deUcious  bird 
for  the  table.  The  goose  resembles  the  gander  in  form 
and  color,  and  both  have  dark  brown  strips  down  the 
back  of  the  neck. — They  are  graceful  in  form,  but  have 
that  most  trying  of  all  defects,  a  discordant  voice,  and  be- 
ing very  loquacious,  it  is  a  serious  evil  to  be  constantly  ex- 
posed to  their  whining,  discontented  harsh  cry — on  a  dis- 
tant piece  of  water  they  look  well,  as  they  are  pecuUarly 
elegant  in  movement.  Their  color  is  brown,  shaded  with 
white  on  the  breast  /  Mil,  tuberculated  and  black ;  neck^ 
long ;  feet  and  legs,  black.    ■ 

The  Touxouse  Goose  should  be  tall  and  erect,  with  the 
body  hanging  on  the  ground  ;  the  breast  and  the  body 
light  grey ;  back,  dark  grey ;  neck,  darker  grey ;  wings 
and  belly  should  shade  off  to  white,  but  there  should  be  but 
little  actual  white  visible  ;  bills,  pale  flesh  color,  hard  and 
strong;  legs  and/eet,  deep  orange,  approaching  red.  The 
weight  of  these  birds  by  careful  feeding  and  management 
has  become  extraordinary,  74  lbs.  for  three  birds  has  been 
attained.  The  Cup  gander  at  Birmingham,  in  1859, 
weighed  33  lbs.,  and  in  1860,  30  lbs. — GosUngs  early  in 
October  often  weigh  20  to  22  pounds. 

Bremen"  or  Embden  Geese  have  blossom-white  plum- 
age; bills,  flesh  color;  legs  and  feet,  orange.  These  birds 
attain  great  weights,  averaging  from  45  to  50  lbs.  per  pair, 
and  are  valuable  on  accoimt  of  the  superior  quality  and 
color  of  the  down,  but  to  look  well  they  must  have  access 
to  a  pond.  The  quiet  domestic  character  of  the  Bremen 
geese  causes  them  to  lay  on  flesh  rapidly,  they  seldom  stray 


FEEDING  AND  MANAGEMENT   OF   DUCKS.        *  93 

from  their  homes  and  much  of  their  time  is  spent  in  a  state 
of  repose. 


FEEDING  AND  MANAGEMENT  OF  DUCKS. 

It  is  not  in  all  situations  that  ducks  can  be  kept  with 
advantage  ;  they  require  water  even  much  more  than  the 
goose  ;  they  are  no  graziers,  yet  they  are  hearty  feeders, 
and  excellent  "  snappers-up  of  unconsidered  trifles."  Noth- 
ing comes  amiss  to  them — green  vegetables,  especially  when 
boiled,  the  rejectamenta  of  the  kitchen,  meal  of  all  sorts 
made  into  a  paste,  grains,  bread,  animal  substances,  worms, 
slugs  and  snails,  insects  and  their  larva?,  are  all  accepted 
with  eagerness.  Their  appetite  is  not  fastidious ;  in  fact, 
to  parody  the  line  of  a  song,  "  they  eat  all  that  is  luscious, 
eat  all  that  they  can,"  and  seem  to  be  determined  to  re- 
ward their  owner  by  keeping  themselves  in  first  rate  con- 
dition, if  the  chance  of  so  doing  is  aiForded  them.  They 
never  need  cramming ;  give  them  enough  and  they  will 
cram  themselves ;  yet  they  have  their  requirements  and 
ways  of  their  own,  which  mnst  be  conceded.  Confinement 
will  not  do  for  them  ;  an  orchard,  a  green  lane,  and  a  pond  ; 
a  farm  yard,  with  barns  and  water,  a  common  of  rather 
wide  extent,  smooth  and  level,  Avith  a  sheet  of  water  and 
ifice  ditches,  abounding  in  the  season  with  tadpoles  and 
the  larva}  of  aquatic  insects — these  are  the  localities  in 
which  the  duck  delights,  and  in  such  they  are  kept  at  lit- 
tle expense.  They  traverse  the  green  sward  in  Indian  file, 
and  thus  return  at  evening  to  their  dormitory,  or  emerge 
from  it  to  the  edge  of  the  pond,  over  which  they  scatter 
themselves,  thus  also  they  come  to  the  call  of  their  feeder. 
Ducks  should  always  have  a  lodging  place  of  their  own  j 


94    •  DOMESTIC  POULTBY. 

they  should  be  separated  from  fowls,  and  never  housed  be- 
neath tiieir  perches;  yet  where  fowls  are  kept,  a  little  con- 
trivance would  suffice  to  make  them  a  comfortable  berth 
in  a  fowl-house.  In  winter,  a  thin  bedding  of  straw,  rush- 
es, or  fern  leaves  should  be  placed  on  the  floor  of  their  dor- 
mitory, and  changed  every  second  day.  More  than  four  or 
five  females  should  not  be  allowed  to  a  single  drake.  The 
duck  lays  a  great  many  eggs  in  the  season.  She  is  chiefly 
a  Spring  layer,  and  while  she  is  laying,  produces  aa  egg 
generally  every  day.  The  female  wiU  cover  with  comfort 
twelve  or  fourteen  eggs,  and  in  most  cases  is  a  steady  sit- 
te%.  When  she  inclines  to  sit  give  her  a  plentiful  nest, 
with  some  broken  hay  or  straw  ready  at  hand,  with  which 
to  cover  the  eggs  when  she  leaves  them.  As  nature  in- 
structs her  to  use  this  precaution,  no  doubt  it  is  best  to 
give  her  the  opportunity.  Let  her  be  supplied  with  food 
and  water  directly  after  she  leaves  her  nest,  and  if  she 
chooses  to  take  a  bath  it  will  do  no  harm.  It  is  common 
to  put  ducks'  eggs  under  hens,  and  it  is  ludicrous,  though 
somewhat  painful,  to  see  the  trepidation  and  anxiety  of  the 
foster-mother  on  the  edge  of  a  pond,  into  which  the  young 
ducks  have  plunged,  regardless  of  her  feelings  and  incessant 
clucking — a  language  they  do  not  understand.  K  tame 
ducks  visit  the  water  too  early,  they  are  very  apt  to  be- 
come cramped,  and  perish ;  for  if  they  once  become  satur- 
ated with  water,  they  invariably  perish.  Ducks  never  be- 
come wet  when  properly  fledged,  for  their  plumage  throws 
off  the  fluid,  and  they  return  dry  from  the  pond ;  but  duck- 
lings, while  yet  in  the  down,  get  wet,  and  should  not  there- 
fore go  to  the  water  until  feathers  supply  the  place  of  the 
eai-ly  down.  They  are  easily  reared,  being  fed  on  meal 
mixed  with  potatoes;  they  are  useful  in  gardens,  which 
they  clear  of  slugs  and  snails,  with  little  injury  to  crops  of 
vegetables.  The  ponds  to  which  they  have  access  should 
contain  neither  pike  nor  eels ;  and  rats  should  be  extirpa- 


WHITE  ATLESBUEY   DUCKS.  95 

ted  from  the  same  places.     Rats  and  skunks  often  thin 
out  a  llock  of  ducklings  most  uncompromisingly. 

Ducks  are  generally  found  good  sitters  and  mothers, 
and  it  is  a  pity  to  rob  them  of  a  task  which  is  more  advan- 
tageously performed  by  them  than  by  hens.  Let  the  ducks 
hatch  their  own  ducklings,  only  taking  care  to  keep  her 
and  them  from  water. 


WHITE    AYLESBURY    DUCKS. 

Of  all  ducks,  the  best  are  the  Aylesbury — plumage  of 
unspotted  white,  a  pale  flesh-colored  bill,  a  dark,  promi- 
nent eye,  with  orange  legs  and  a  stately  carriage,  are  the 
characteristics  of  this  race,  whose  name  is  derived  from 
the  town  of  Aylesbury,  England,  in  which  neighborhood 
they  are  kept  in  large  numbers  for  the  supply  of  the  Lon- 
don markets.  The  weight  of  the  adult  Aylesbury  duck 
should  at  least  average,  if  properly  fed,  from  ten  to  twelve 
pounds  the  pair  (duck  and  drake).  Instances  have,  hoAV- 
ever,  occurred  where  tfie  drakes  have  come  up  to  eight 
pounds  and  upwards,  and  would  in  all  probability,  if  fat- 
tened, reach  ten  pounds  each.  They  are  prolific  layers. 
From  two  of  these  ducks,  three  hundred  eggs  have  been 
obtained  in  the  course  of  twelve  months ;  in  addition  to 
which  one  of  them  sat  twice,  the  other  only  once,  the  three 
nests  giving  thirty  young  ones.  The  eggs  vary  in  color, 
some  being  white,  while  others  are  of  a  pale-blue  tint,  the 
average  weight  being  three  ounces.  As  a  further  recom- 
mendation for  them  in  an  economical  point  of  view,  their 
consumption  of  food  is  less  than  that  of  the  common  duck; 
and  another  advantage  may  be  found  in  their  comparative 
silence  from  the  continuous  "  quack,  quack,  quack,"  of  the 
latter  bird.     They  also  attain  greater  weight  in  less  time ; 


96  DOMESTIC   POULTBY. 

and  from  their  superior  appearance  when  plucked,  are  a  fer 
more  marketable  article. 

The  Aylesbury  duck  is  so  distinct  from  any  other  as  to 
be  easily  distinguished  by  any  pei'son  desirous  of  obtaining 
them.  They  are  better  sitters  than  the  Rouen  duck,  and 
also,  from  their  lighter  form,  better  nurses  than  the  latter. 
Some  writers  on  poultry  have  given  a  preference  to  the 
Rouen  duck  over  the  Aylesbury,  but  I  sliould  say  their 
opinions  must  be  biased  by  the  richness  of  the  Rouen's 
plumage.  This,  however,  is  a  point  of  minor  considera- 
tion in  a  bird  whose  merits  must  be  weighed  by  its  value 
as  an  economical  inhabitant  of  the  poultry-yard ;  but  where 
both  these  recommendations  can  be  combined,  there  are 
few  persons  who  would  not  by  experience  prefer  the 
Aylesbury. 

Mr.  John  Giles,  of  Woodstock,  Connecticut,  who  has 
probably  had  as  much,  if  not  more  experience  in  the  breed- 
ing and  management  of  fowls  of  all  descriptions  than  any 
other  fowl-fancier  in  the  country,  says  of  the  Aylesbury 
duck  : 

"  The  breed  I  brought  with  me  from  England  are  white, 
with  white  bills  ;  their  flesh  is  of  a  beautiful  white  ;  their 
weight  eight  to  ten  pounds  per  pair  when  fully  grown. 
They  are  considered  a  rarity  in  London,  commanding  one- 
third  more  price  than  any  other  ducks  brought  to  market." 

Mowbray  says :  "  The  white  Aylesbury  ducks  are  a 
beautiful  and  ornamental  stock.  They  are  said  to  be  early 
layers  and  breeders.  Vast  quantities  are  fattened  for  the 
London  markets,  where  they  are  in  great  demand.  Many 
families  derive  a  comfortable  living  from  breeding  and 
rearing  ducks,  the  greater  part  of  which — the  early  ones, 
at  all  events — are  actually  reared  by  hand.  The  interior 
of  the  cottages  of  those  who  follow  this  occupation  pre- 
sents a  very  curious  appearance  to  the  stranger,  being  fur- 
nished with  boxes  for  the  protection  of  the  tender  charge 


MUSK  OB  MirscovT  nucK.  97 

of- the  good- wife,  whose  whole  time  and  attention  are  taken 
up  with  this  branch  of  domestic  economy." 

The  American  Agriculturist  says,  in  the  number  for 
August,  1864  :  "  The  only  variety  which  really  rivals  the 
Rouen  as  a  useful  and  economical  bird  is  the  Aylesbury. 
These  are  a  pure  white  English  variety,  are  beautiful  birds, 
and  highly  esteemed  in  the  markets  of  Great  Britain,  as 
also  in  the  United  States  where  they  are  known.  They 
are  good  layers  and  nurses,  not  noisy,  good  feeders,  and  by 
some  decidedly  preferred  to  the  Rouen." 

The  Meld,  (London,)  of  Dec.  26th,  1864,  says  :  "  Ayles- 
burys  are  superior  in  weight  and  early  maturity  to  Rouens, 
and  are  consequently  generally  preferred  by  those  who 
breed  for  the  supply  of  the  London  markets." 


THE  MUSK  OR  MUSCOVY  DUCK. 

The  Musk  Duck,  so  termed  from  the  strong  scent  of 
musk  which  its  skin  exhales,  is  undoubtedly  the  type  of  a 
genus  very  distinct  from  that  of  the  common  duck.  Li 
this  species  the  feathers  are  large,  lax,  and  powdery ;  the 
cheeks  are  naked,  and  the  base  of  the  bill  is  carunculated. 
This  duck  greatly  exceeds  the  ordinary  kind  in  size,  and 
the  male  is  far  larger  than  the  female.  The  general  color 
is  glossy  blue-black,  varied  more  or  less  with  white  ;  but 
they  are  also  known  pure  white  and  blue.  A  scarlet 
fleshy  space  surrounds  the  eye,  continued  from  scarlet  car- 
uncles at  the  base  of  the  beak.  The  tail  is  destitute  of 
the  curled  feathers  so  conspicuous  in  the  tail  of  the  com- 
mon drake. 

According  to  Buffon,  these  birds  were  introduced  into 

France  from  Guiana  about  the  year  1540.     The  species 

'■-  T^oxT  who  termed  it  the  wood-duck  of  Bra- 


98  DOMESTIC  POULTEY. 

adl.  Marcgrave,  who  describes  the  Musk  Duck  as  black 
with  white  shoulders,  terms  it  "  a  woodland  duck,  as  large 
as  a  goose."  He  observes  it  is  common  in  Brazil,  Guiana, 
and  Paraguay.  In  Paraguay  it  is  seen  either  in  pairs  or  in 
flocks  of  twenty  or  thirty,  which  roost  together  on  high 
trees ;  the  female  lays  in  September  from  ten  to  fourteen 
eggs,  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree,  on  a  bed  of  feathers  from  the 
breast  of  the  male.  Mr.  Eyeton,  in  his  valuable  work  on 
the  duck  tribe,  states  that  these  birds  "  are  supposed  to  be 
the  original  natives  of  South  America" — an  impression 
which  evidently  implies  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  veri- 
fy the  original  locality  of  the  species. 

The  Musk  Duck  is  fond  of  warmth,  passing  the  night,  at 
the  north,  not  in  the  open  air,  but  in  the  fowl-house,  with 
the  cock  and  hens  ;  and  selecting  by  day  the  most  sunny 
comer  to  bask  and  dose  in.  It  will  never  go  near  the  wa- 
ter if  it  can  help  it,  but  will  prefer  the  farm-yard,  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  kitchen,  or  even  the  piggery  itself,  to  the 
clearest  stream  that  ever  flowed.  In  fact,  it  hates  water, 
except  some  dirty  puddle  to  drink  and  dabble  in.  It  does 
sometimes  seem  to  enjoy  a  bath ;  but  so  does  a  pigeon  or 
canary-bird.  Its  very  short  leg  does  not  appear  to  be 
mechanically  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  swimming.  It 
waddles  on  the  surface  of  a  pond  as  much  as  it  does  on  dry 
land,  and  is  evidently  out  of  its  place  in  either  situation.  Its 
proper  mode  of  locomotion  is  through  the  air ;  its  conge- 
nial haunts  being  among  the  branches  of  trees. 

The  female  of  the  Musk  duck  has  considerable  power  of 
flight,  and  is  easy  and  self-possessed  in  the  use  of  its  wings. 
It  is  fond  of  perching  on  the  tops  of  barns,  walls,  etc.  Its 
s^  feet  appear,  by  their  form,  to  be  more  adapted  to  such  pur- 
poses than  most  of  other  ducks.  If  allowed  to  spend  the 
night  in  the  hen-house,  the  female  will  generally  go  to  roost 
by  the  side  of  the  hens,  but  the  drake  is  too  heavy  to 
mount  thither  with  ease.     His  claws  are  sharp  and  long 


MUSK  OB  MT7SC0VT  DUCK.  99 

and  he  approaches  the  tribe  of  "  scratchers."  in  an  unsci- 
entific sense,  being  almost  as  dangerous  to  handle  incau- 
tiously as  an  ill-tempered  cat,  and  will  occasionally  adopt  a 
still  more  offensive  and  scarcely-describable  means  of  an- 
noyance. 

He  manifests  little  affection  for  his  partner,  and  nont 
towards  her  offspring.  The  possession  of  three  or  four 
mates  smts  him  and  them  better  than  to  be  confined  to  the 
company  of  a  single  one.  He  bullies  other  fowls,  some- 
times by  pulling  their  feathers,  but  more  frequently  by 
following  them  close,  and  repeatedly  thrusting  his  face  in 
their  way,  with  an  offensive  and  satyr-like  expression  of 
countenance. 

The  Musk  Duck,  though  a  voracious  feeder,  is  easily 
fattened.  As  layers,  they  are  inferiof  to  the  Aylesbury  or 
Rouen.  Their  eggs  are  rounder  than  those  of  the  com- 
mon duck,  and  frequently  incline  to  a  greenish  tint. 

The  newly-hatched  young  resemble  those  of  the  com- 
mon tame  duck ;  they  are  covered  with  down,  the  shades 
of  which  indicate  the  color  of  the  future  feathers ;  and 
they  do  rtot  for  some  time  show  any  appearance  of  the  tu- 
berculated  face.  They  are  dehcate,  and  require  some  care 
while  young,  but  are  quite  hardy  when  full  grown.  Their 
food  should  be  anything  that  is  nirtritious,  supplied  in  abun- 
dance and  variety.  The  Musk  duck  is  excellent  eating,  if 
killed  just  before  it  is  fully  fledged  ;  but  it  is  longer  in  be- 
coming fit  for  the  table  than  the  common  duck.  The  flesh 
is  at  first  high-flavored  and  tender ;  but  an  old  bird  would 
be  rank,  and  the  toughest  of  tough  meats. 

No  very  high  opinion  is  entertained  as  regards  the  ap- 
pearance, habits  or  economy  of  this  duck  in  the  poultiy- 
yard.  The  bloated  look  of  the  head,  the  inordinate  length 
of  the  body,  its  awkward  legs  and  twaddle  walk,  mar  the 
effects  of  colors  that  are  often  brilliant  and  striking. 


100  DOMESTIC  POULTBT. 


THE    ROUEN    DUCK. 

The  Rouen  Duck  derives  its  name  from  the  city  of  Rou* 
en  on  the  river  Seine,  in  Fiance,  and  is  esteemed  highly  by 
epicures.  It  is  a  prohfic  bird,  and  lays  large  eggs.  Its 
size  is  the  criterion  of  its  value.  In  color  the  Rouen  duck 
closely  assimilates  to  the  wild  duck ;  the  drake's  especially 
is  magnificent ;  its  head  and  neck  being  a  rich  lustrous 
green,  with  a  white  ring  at  the  base  of  the  neck ;  breast  a 
reddish  brown ;  the  remainder  of  the  body  and  wings  par- 
taking very  much  of  the  colors  of  the  wild  mallard.  The 
duck  is  a  brown  bird,  the  feathers  bemg  all  marked  with 
black ;  she  has,  at  a  very  early  age,  a  great  development 
of  her  "  stomach  pouch,"  which  frequently  hangs  so  low 
as  to  impede  the  action  of  the  bird.  From  this  and  other 
causes  the  Rouen  is  a  less  active  variety  than  the  Ayles- 
bury, and  for  the  same  cause  does  not  make  a  good  sitter, 
being  too  heavy  for  the  young  bii'ds  when  hatching,  and 
for  this  cause  her  eggs  should  be  placed  under  a  hen. 
This  is  the  more  necessary,  as  the  duck  lays  so  long,  that 
it  often  makes  the  brood  a  very  late  one,  if  the  eggs  are 
not  set  till  she  is  broody.  Cases  are  reported  of  ducks  of 
this  breed,  which  laid  an  egg  a  day  for  85  and  92  succes 
sive  days,  and  though  this  is  unusual,  yet  they  often  lay  a 
similar  length  of  time  before  they  become  ready  to  sit. 

The  Rouen  is  the  most  lethargic,  and,  consequently,  the 
most  speedily  fed  of  any.  Their  whole  appearance  is 
rather  ungainly ;  but  the  most  inconsiderate  observer  can 
hardly  fail  of  being  struck  with  the  size  of  good  specimens 
of  this  breed.  They  are  as  hardy  as  any  other  kind,  and 
rarely  evince  any  disposition  to  wander  from  their  home, 
and  an  especial  recommendation  is,  that  they  are  not  noisy. 


102  DOMESTIC  POTTLTBT. 


POULTRY    FOR     EXHIBITION. 

There  is  neither  so  much  profit,  nor  so  much  honor,  in 
gaining  prizes  with  bought  birds  as  with  those  that  have 
been  bred  at  home.  As  a  rule,  those  who  are  in  a  position 
to  give  the  largest  sums  are  not  tl\ose  who  pay  the  most 
attention  to  their  birds ;  and  it  is  almost  impossible  one 
person  should  possess  all  the  advantages  requisite  to  suc- 
cess. The  produce  of  the  best  birds  in  the  world,  if  only 
moderately  attended  to,  will  not  be  better  than  those  of 
merely  good  ones  favored  by  every  advantage.  If  it  is 
wished  to  exhibit  at  eai*ly  shows  or  fairs,  say  in  June,  July, 
and  August,  the  chickens  should  be  hatched  early  in  Feb- 
ruary, one  thing  alone  operates  disadvantageously,  namely, 
that  the  nights  are  longer. 

About  the  middle  of  Januaiy  two  or  three  hens  should 
be  set  in  a  warm,  sheltered  spot,  and  each  should  have 
seven  eggs  from  selected  birds,  above  all  such  as  have  no 
capital  defects  or  lack  of  any  virtue.  Grant  that  five  chick- 
ens are  hatched  under  each,  which  is  enough — and  as  many 
as  she  can  rear, — it  will  take  at  least  fifteen  chickens  hatch- 
ed to  produce  six  fit  to  show  in  June. 

It  is  easy  to  give  any  quantity  of  food,  and  to  supply  any 
amount  of  heat,  but  it  must  always.be  impossible  to  give 
sufficient  nourishment  in  eight  hours  to  last  for  and  carry 
chickens  over  the  twenty-four.  It  will  therefore  be  neces- 
sary to  feed  them  twice  after  dark,  and  this  should  be  done 
even  with  those  that  are  intended  for  the  market,  and  never 
hope  for  any  distinction  beyond  that  of  being  spring  chick- 
ens and  eaten  with  asparagus.  Say  that  the  last  daylight- 
meal  is  at  four  o'clock,  and  then  at  eight  give  them  anoth- 
er by  candle  light. 

The  coop  should  be  in  doors,  covered  carefully,  so  as  to 


POULTRY   FOR   EXHIBITION.  103 

exclude  any  cold  air.  Place  a  dark  board,  on  which  the 
food,  curd,  egg,  or  bread  and  milk  will  be  easily  seen,  in 
front,  and  then  raising  a  corner  of  the  covering  immedi- 
ately before  the  board,  throw  down  the  light  of  a  candle 
on  it,  and  call  the  chickens.  Repeat  the  meal  at  11  o'clock, 
and  again  at  7  in  the  morning ;  and  the  night  is  reduced 
to  eight  hours'  fasting,  which  the  chickens  can  bear  with- 
out injury.  As  they  grow,  if  either  of  them  shows  any 
great  defect,  fatten  it  for  the  table  or  market,  and  reserve 
all  that  you  can  of  those  that  promise  to  make  a  good  re- 
turn. Of  course,  this  is  only  needed  for  those  that  are 
hatched  early ;  the  late  ones  do  not  require  it,  they  have 
nature  on  their  side,  and  she  is  a  good  nurse.  Those  very 
early  chickens  are  not  wanted  for  late  shows  or  fairs  ;  the 
produce  of  April  or  May  will  always  beat  them.  Where 
many  fowls  are  bred  from  a  good  stock,  and  kept  in  a  farm- 
yard affording  all  necessary  food,  we  would  be  content  to 
leave  altogether,  even  though  we  intended  to  exhibit. 
Weight  is  never  the  principal  point  in  fowls.  It  is  mora 
important  in  December  and  the  later  winter-shows,  than 
it  is  between  August  and  November.  At  this  later  period 
that  which  is  looked  for  in  a  prize-taker  is  a  large  frame. 
The  food  has  been  expended  in  height,  length,  and  breadth, 
and  while  this  is  the  case  there  will  be  no  weight  and  fat. 
That  which  stops  the  growth  and  induces  fattening  lessens 
the  probability  of  success. 

All  fowls  should  be  together  for  some  days  before  they 
go  to  a  slio  w  or  fair.  Being  on  the  same  walk  is  not  enough  ; 
they  should  be  daily  confined  in  a  small  space.  If  this 
precaution  is  not  taken,  success  is  frequently  marred  by  the 
pen  having  one  hen  or  another  torn  to  pieces,  or  eaten, 
at  least  so  far  as  the  scalp  and  back  part  of  the  neck  are 
concerned.  This  is  more  frequently  the  work  of  the  hens 
than  of  the  cock ;  and  when  tlfey  are  put  together,  if  one 
begins  to  beat  another,  and  is  allowed  to  do  so  without 


104  DOMBSTIC  POULTRY. 

resistance,  it  is  useless  to  think  of  their  agreeing,  and  mad- 
ness to  think  of  showing  them  together.  As  a  hen  or  pul- 
let is  frequently  spoiled  for  exhibition  in  a  few  minutes,  it 
may  be  worth  while  to  describe  the  first  appearance  of  an 
intended  aggression. 

The  pugnacious  hen  will  begin  by  raising  herself  on  tip- 
toe till  she  can  look  down  on  her  antagonist,  then,  dropping 
her  wings  and  raising  her  hackle,  she  will  strike  the  first 
blow.  If  this  be  submitted  to,  there  is  no  hope  for  the 
beaten.  She  should  be  removed  ;  they  will  never  agree, 
and  she  will  be  eaten.  It  may  be  asked  why  these  things 
do  not  occur  in  yards.  The  reason  is  simple.  Because  the 
space  allows  room  for  the  victim  to  escape  ;  but  it  is  one 
of  the  inexplicable  things  of  poultry,  that  when  in  presenco 
of  a  pugnacious  mate,  a  hen  or  pullet  tries  no  resistance, 
she  endeavors  to  find  an  outlet  for  flight ;  failing  that,  she 
chooses  a  corner  into  which  she  thrusts  her  head,  and  thus 
"  accepting  the  situation  "  she  stands  still  while  she  is 
eaten.  But  without  fighting  they  sometimes  disagree,  and 
then  they  show  to  disadvantage,  because  the  weakest  bird 
is  always  out  of  sight. 

If  an  amateur  who  wishes  to  exhibit,  has  fifteen  fowls  to 
choose  from,  and  to  form  a  pen  of  a  cock  and  two  heus,  he 
should  study  and  scan  them  while  feeding  at  his  feet  in  the 
morning.  He  should  then  have  a  place  similar  to  an  ex- 
hibition pen,  wherein  he  can  place  the  selected  birds  ;  they 
should  be  raised  to  the  height  at  which  he  can  best  see 
them,  and  before  he  has  looked  long  at  them  defects  will 
become  apparent  one  after  the  other,  till,  in  all  probabil- 
ity, neither  of  the  subjects  of  his  first  choice  will  go  to 
the  show.  We  also  advise  him  rather  to  look  for  defects 
than  to  dwell  on  beauties ;  the  latter  are  always  promi- 
nent enough.  Then  pen  of  which  we  speak  should  be  a 
moveable  one,  for  convenience  sake,  and  it  is  well  to  leave 
the  fowls  in  it  for  a  time  to  accustom  them  to  each  other. 


POULTRY   FOE    EXHIBITION.  105 

In  all  cases  (save  those  in  which  white  pluin-'^iro  is  de- 
sirable) we  advise  that  fowls,  such  as  Dorkiug,  Cochins, 
Brahma  Pootras,  and  all  golden  birds,  should  run  at  libei- 
ty  till  they  are  wanted  to  send  away.  Spanish  are  im- 
proved by  confinement  in  a  dark  place  for  some  days  be- 
fore exhibition,  giving  just  enough  of  light  to  enable  them 
to  pick  their  food  and  to  perch.  They  should  also  be  lit- 
tered with  straw,  as  cleanliness  has  much  to  do  with  the 
success  of  these  birds. 

Game-fowls  should  be  kept  up  for  a  few  days,  and  fed 
on  bread,  meal,  barley,  and  peas.  These  latter  make  the 
plumage  hard,  but  they  must  be  used  sparingly,  as  they 
have  a  tendency  to  fatten.  White  feathered  birds,  such  as 
Silver-pencilled  Hamburgs,  the  top-knots  of  Silver  Polands, 
the  tails  of  Silver-spangled,  all  require  washing.  This  is 
not  difficult.  Put  a  handful  of  soda  in  a  bowl  of  warm 
water.  Immerse  the  fowl  entirely,  rinse  thoroughly  with 
cold  water,  wipe  with  a  flannel  and  place  in  a  basket,  with 
soft  straw,  before  a  fire  to  dry.  All  fowls  should  have 
their  legs  washed  before  they  are  sent  to  a  show  ;  scuif  or 
dead  skin  should  be  removed  from  the  comb,  dry  dirt  from 
the  b«ak,  and  stains  from  the  plumage.  Baskets  in  which 
they  are  packed  should  always  he  round,  high  enough  for 
the  cocks  to  stand  upright,  and  covered  with  canvas.  If 
a  single  covering  of  canvas  is  not  deemed  enough  it  may 
be  double,  and  the  space  between  filled  with  hay.  No 
injury  can  then,  by  any  possibility,  be  done  to  the  birds. 
But  if  the  basket  be  square,  feathers  must  be  broken,  and 
if  the  top  be  unyielding  wicker-work,  whether  it  be  a  top- 
knot or  comb  that  comes  in  contact  with  it,  it  must  suffer 
by  being  flattened. 

Fowls  should  be  thoroughly  fed  before  they  leave  for  a 
show,  but  the  food  should  be  soft.  Sopped  or  steeped 
bread  is  excellent.  Hard  food  is  to  be  avoided,  because 
the  digestion  is  to  take  place  without  help  from  exercise, 


106  DOMESTIC   POULTET. 

gravel,  or  anything  else.  This  is  more  important  than 
may  appear  at  first,  when  it  is  considered  they  will  proba- 
bly undergo  the  ordeal  of  judgment  within  a  few  hours  of 
their  departure  from  home,  and  that  indigestion  is  accom- 
panied by  sickly  and  rufiied  plumage,  dullness  of  color, 
dark  comb  and  yellow  face.  In  cold  weather  it  is  neces- 
sary they  should  have  plently  of  straw  in  their  baskets  for 
warmth  sake ;  and  when  fowls  go  frequently  to  fairs  or 
shows  the  straw  should  be  renewed  every  time. 

Fowls  are  not  chilly,  but  they  dislike  draughts,  and  even 
in  the  raih'oad  cars  there  are  chinks  and  crevices  through 
which  there  is  an  active  current.  They  are  also  left  in 
open  and  exposed  spots  at  stations,  and  then  the  warm 
straw  plays  a  useful  part. 

Ill  fowls,  as  in  other  things,  "  let  well  alone  "  is  a  good 
and  useful  motto.  When  they  return  from  a  fair,  looking 
in  perfect  health,  do  nothing ;  but  if  combs  be  dark,  or 
crops  be  hard,  a  tablespoonful  of  castor  oil  is  a  valuable 
medicine  and  proper  treatment.  Where  it  is  convenient, 
it  is  useful  to  have  a  spare  run,  where  birds  can  be  put 
down  on  their  return  from  fairs,  and  subjected,  if  neces- 
sary, to  an  especial  treatment.  I  do  not  say  this  is  «eces- 
Bary,  especially  in  the  present  day. 

They  seldom  require  any  other  treatment  than  purga- 
tives to  remove  the  accumulations  of  three  or  four  days 
of  unnatural  appetite,  undue  feed  from  mistaken  kindness, 
and  perhaps  rubbish  from  the  bottoms  of  the  cages. 

These  are  things  so  generally  known,  it  would  seem 
ridiculous  to  mention  them ;  yet  I  would  not  be  justified  in 
leaving  them  out.  I  speak  of  one  of  them  when  I  remind 
exhibitors  that  birds  in  a  pen  must  match  as  to  comb  and 
color  of  legs. 


APPENDIX. 


REPORT     OF     A     VISIT     TO    THE     POULTRY 
YARDS    OF    FRANCE. 

[Note. — Mr.  Geo.  K.  Geyelin,  a  civil  engineer  connected  with  the 
National  Poultry  Company,  of  Bromley  in  Kent,  England,  took  occasion 
before  erecting  the  extensive  buildings  proposed  to  be  put  up,  and  per- 
haps already  erected,  by  the  company,  to  visit  France  with  a  view  to 
lool£  into  the  systems  pursued  in  raising  fowls  on  a  very  large  scale. 
He  embodied  his  observations  in  a  concise  report  to  the  stockholders, 
which  is  given  with  few  omissions.] 

THE   OBJECT   OF   THE   TRIP. 

The  primary  object  of  the  voyage  was  to  ascertain  everything  con- 
nected with  Poultry  Breeding  in  France  which  might  assist  in  promot- 
ing the  success  of  our  undertaking ;  also  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of 
numerous  assertions  in  the  public  papers,  that  there  existed  in  the 
vicinity  of  Paris  most  extensive  Gallinocultural  establishments,  which 
by  their  particular  system  of  artificial  incubation,  rearing,  and  feeding 
Poultry  on  horseflesh,  realized  in  one  instance,  viz.,  in  that  of  M.  de 
Soras,  upwards  of  £40,000  per  annum.  I  need  scarcely  say  that,  after 
the  most  searching  investigation  within  a  radius  of  forty  miles  of  Paris, 
my  opinion  has  been  fully  confirmed  that  such  establishments  do  not 
nor  can  possibly  exist.        *        *        * 

[Hearing,  however,  that  one  existed  at  Mouy,  he  telegraphed  and 
wrote,  and  finally  he  says] :  To  make  the  inquiry  triply  sure,  I  started 
myself  for  Mouy ;  arrived  at  Reil  Junction,  I  was  informed  that  such  an 
establishment  really  did  exist  at  Mouy,  and  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
railway  station,  which  news  delighted  me,  to  know  that  my  journey 
wa«  not  like  a  wild  goose  chase ;  therefore,  on  arriving  at  Mouy,  I  pro- 
ceeded at  once  to  the  Poultry  establishment,  but  not  of  M.  de  Soras, 
whose  name  is  not  even  known  to  any  person  in  that  neighborhood,  but 


108  DOMBST^  POULTBT. 

of  M.  Manoury,  61eveur  a,  Angy  prSs  Mouy,  to  whom  I  briefly  related 
the  object  of  my  call ;  I  was  received  with  every  courtesy  and  informed 
that  he  knew  of  no  such  name  as  M.  de  Soras,  nor  of  any  establishment 
of  the  kind,  but  that  he  devoted  his  time  to  rearing  some  5000  head  of 
Poultry  per  annum ;  he  neither  fed  them  on  horseflesh  or  supplied  the 
markets  of  Paris,  that  he  sold  none  but  pure  breeds,  and  those  to 
gentlemen  and  fancy  Poultry  dealers ;  nevertheless,  that  his  system  of 
hatching,  rearing,  and  feeding  was  so  different  to  that  adopted  by  others 
that  it  might  possibly  have  given  rise  to  those  exaggerated  reports ; 
after  which  he  conducted  me  over  his  establishment,  and  explained 
most  minutely  the  system  he  has  adopted,  which,  however,  I  need  not 
explain  in  this  part,  as  I  shall  have  to  refer  to  it  under  the  several  head- 
ings. I  will  now  conclude  by  adding  that  I  have  visited  all  those  places 
in  France  so  justly  famed  for  their  Poultry,  and  from  which  those 
celebrated  breeds  of  Houdan,  La  Fleche,  and  Creve  Coeur  are  obtained, 
where  also  I  met  with  the  utmost  courtesy  in  my  inquiries,  though  I 
had  been  informed  that  the  farmers  never  explained  or  showed  their 
system  of  Poultry  rearing  to  any  one,  which  possibly  may  be  true  as 
regards  their  countrymen. 

Of  Artificial  Incubation  I  have  observed  four  different  systems, 
which,  although  said  to  answer  well,  are  yet  far  from  being  applicable 
to  hatching  in  a  commercial  point  of  view.  It  matters  indeed  very 
little  what  system  is  adopted  provided  the  heat  is  maintained  at  an  even 
temperature  :  to  obtain  this,  various  regulators  have  been  invented,  but 
none  of  which  can  as  yet  dispense  with  personal  care.  They  all  say 
that  their  regulators  are  perfect  if  the  temperature  of  the  room  can  be 
kept  at  the  same  degree  of  heat  during  incubation,  that  then  they  can 
regulate  the  heat  of  the  incubator  to  any  given  degree ;  but  as  such 
conditions  of  a  uniform  temperature  are  impossible  to  maintain,  con- 
sidering the  variations  in  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere,  I  consider 
artificial  hatching  too  expensive  for  ordinary  purposes,  and  only  to  be 
adopted  at  certain  times  of  the  year,  and  then  only  in  establishments 
where  the  heat  can  be  maintained  at  a  uniform  temperature,  day  and 
night,  by  personal  care. 

At  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  in  Paris,  the  manager  of  the  poultry  de- 
partment, M.  Valine,  employs  an  apparatus  of  his  own  invention,  which 
he  has  patented,  and  for  which  he  has  obtained  prizes  at  two  exhibitions. 
The  principle  consists  of  water  heated  by  means  of  a  lamp  as  a  medium 
for  hatching :  the  temperature  is  regulated  by  admitting  more  or  less 
cold  air  by  means  of  a  valve  opened  or  closed  by  a  mercury  float. 

At  the  Jardin  d' Acclimatization  two  systems  of  artificial  incubation  are 
in  use,  and  although  both  are  on  the  hot-water  principle,  yet  they  diflTer 
materially, — the  one  is  heated  by  means  of  a  lamp  and  the  temperature 
regulated  by  a  valve  admitting  more  or  less  cold  air,  and  which  is 
effected  by  a  piston  acted  upon  by  the  expansion  or  condensation  of  air 


APPE3IDIX.  109 

under  different  temperatures  ;  the  other  consists  merely  of  a  zinc  box 
covered  with  non-conducting  materials.  This  apparatus  requires  neither 
lamp,  regulator,  or  thermometer,  the  hot  water  is  renewed  every  twelve 
hours,  and  it  is  said  to  answer  admirablj'.  The  eggs  are  placed  in  a 
drawer  underneath  the  water  tank,  hut  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  with 
an  atmospheric  temperature  at  or  below  freezing-point,  it  would  be  very 
difficult  to  prevent  the  rapid  cooling  of  the  water. 

The  next  and  last  system  of  artificial  hatching  I  shall  notice  is  that 
shown  to  me  by  M.  Manoury  at  Mouy.  It  consists  of  an  ordinary  wino 
cask  lined  on  the  inside  with  plaster  of  Paris.  In  this  cask  several  trays 
with  eggs  are  suspended,  and  the  top  of  the  cask  is  provided  with  a 
certain  number  of  vent-holes  for  admitting  air,  which  is  regulated  by 
means  of  vent-pegs  :  the  cask  is  surrounded  to  the  top  with  a  thickness 
of  about  four  .feet  of  horse  manure.  Though  I  am  assured  that  this 
principle  answers  well,  I  entertain  serious  doubts  about  it  for  the  same 
reasons  as  before  stated. 

Natukal.  Hatching  differs  entirely  from  what  I  ever  saw  before,  and 
in  some  parts  of  France  forms  a  jpecial  trade  carried  on  by  persons  cal- 
led Couveurs  or  Hatchers.  These  hatch  for  farmers  at  all  times  of  the 
year  at  so  much  per  egg,  or  purchase  the  eggs  in  the  market  and  sell  the 
chickens  as  soon  as  hatched  from  threepence  to  sixpence  each,  accord- 
ing to  the  season  of  the  year.  This  system  may  aptly  be  called  a  living 
hatching  machine,  and,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  the  very  best  and  cheapest 
way  of  hatching,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  description  : — 

The  Hatching  Room  is  kept  dark,  and  at  an  even  temperature  in 
summer  and  winter.  In  this  room  a  number  of  boxes,  two  feet  long, 
one  foot  wide,  and  one  foot  six  inches  deep,  are  ranged  along  the  walls. 
These  boxes  are  covered  in  with  lattice  or  wire  work,  and  serve  for 
turkeys  to  hatch  any  kind  of  eggs.  Similar  boxes,  but  of  smaller 
dimensions,  are  provided  for  broody  fowls.  The  bed  of  the  boxes  is 
formed  of  heather,  straw,  hay,  or  cocoa-fibres ;  and  the  number  of  eggs 
for  turkeys  to  hatch  is  two  dozen,  and  one  dozen  for  hens. 

At  any  time  of  the  year,  turkeys,  whether  broody  or  not,  are  taught 
to  hatch  in  the  following  manner : — Some  addled  eggs  are  emptied,  then 
filled  with  plaster  of  Paris,  then  placed  in  a  nest ;  after  which,  a  turkey 
is  fetched  from  the  yard  and  placed  on  the  eggs,  and  covered  over  with 
lattice :  for  the  first  forty-eight  hours  she  will  endeavor  to  get  out  of 
her  confinement,  but  soon  becomes  reconciled  to  it,  and  then  fresh  eggs 
are  substituted  for  the  plaster  of  Paris  ones ;  they  will  then  continue  to 
hatch,  without  intermission,  from  three  to  six  months,  and  even  longer ; 
the  chickens  being  withdrawn  as  soon  as  hatched,  and  fresh  eggs  sub- 
stituted.*   After  the  third  day  the  eggs  are  examine^,  and  the  clear 

*  The  use  of  turkeys  as  persistent  sitters,  or  as  Mr.  Geyelin  pMVases  It  "  living 
hatching  machines,"  has  been  tried  with  entire  success  by  two  amateurs 
(acquaintances  of  the  author)  in  the  vicinity  of  CincinnHti. 


110  DOMESTIC  POULTRY. 

r^gs  withdrawn, — which  are  then  Bold  in  the  market  for  new  laid ;  but, 
as  they  may  be  soiled  or  discolored  from  haying  been  sat  upon,  they 
clean  them  with  water  and  silver-sand  to  restore  their  original  whiteness. 

The  turkeys  are  taken  oflf  their  nest  once  a  day  to  feed  and  to  remove 
their  excrements  from  the  nest ;  but,  after  a  while,  they  cease  self- 
feeding,  when  it  is  necessary  to  cram  them,  and  give  them  some  water 
once  a  day. 

Amongst  some  places  I  visited,  in  company  with  two  of  your  share- 
holders, may  be  mentioned  the  farm  of  Madame  La  Marquise  de  la 
Briffe,  Chateau  de  Neuville,  Gambais,  near  Houdan,  where  we  observed 
twelve  turkeys  hatching  at  the  same  time ;  here,  also,  we  witnessed  the 
rearing  and  fattening,  which  will  be  alluded  to  hereafter.  In  another 
place,  that  of  Mr.  Auche  of  Gambais,  a  hatcher  by  trade,  we  observed 
sixty  turkeys  hatching  at  the  same  time ;  and  we  were  informed  that 
during  winter  and  early  spring  he  had  sometimes  upwards  of  one 
hundred  hatching  at  the  same  time,  and  that  each  turkey  continued 
hatching  for  at  least  three  months.  At  the  farm  of  Mr.  Louis  Mary  at 
St.  Julien  de  Faugon,  near  Lizieux  in  Calvados,  I  saw  a  turkey  that  was 
then  sitting  and  had  been  so  upwards  6f  six  months,  and,  as  I  considered 
it  rather  cruel,  the  hatcher,  to  prove  the  contrary,  took  her  oflf  the  nest 
and  put  her  in  the  meadow,  and  also  removed  the  eggs ;  the  tnrkey, 
however,  to  my  surprise,  returned  immediately  to  her  nest  and  called 
in  a  most  plaintive  voice  for  her  eggs ;  then  some  eggs  were  placed  in  a 
corner  of  the  box,  which  she  instantly  drew  under  her  with  her  beak, 
and  seemed  quite  delighted.  Moreover,  I  was  informed  that  it  was  of 
great  economical  advantage  to  employ  turkeys  to  hatch,  as  they  eat 
very  little  and  get  very  fat  in  their  state  of  confinement,  and  therefore 
fit  for  the  market  any  day. 

THE   REAJRING   OF   CHICKENS. 

It  seems  strange  that  although  in  all  countries  the  great  difficulty  of 
Poultry  Breeding  is  the  successful  rearing,  that  no  adequate  means  have 
ever  been  devised  to  counteract  the  influence  of  climates.  In  France, 
as  here,  a  cold  or  wet  spring  is  equivalent  to  a  great  loss  in  Poultry,  and 
it  seems  to  be  admitted  everywhere  that  cold  and  wet  do  not  agree  with 
Poultry;  therefore,  were  it  not  for  some  novelties  I  observed  in  the 
rearing,  to  which  I  shall  allude  presently,  I  might  well  have  said  that 
their  system  is  no  better  than  our  own ;  in  fact,  they  show  an  utter  dis- 
regard of  all  sanitary  considerations,  and  without  wishing  to  parti- 
cularize any  establishment,  whether  public  or  private,  I  may  state  that 
in  even  the  best  conducted,  room  is  left  for  great  improvement  in  this 
respect.  In  some  parts  of  France,  where  Poultry  Breeding  is  carried  on 
as  a  trade,  they  seldom  allow  a  hen  to  lead  the  chickens  after  being 
hatched,  as  the  hen  is  more  valuable  for  laying  eggs,  but  they  entrust 


APPENDIX  111 

this  office  either  to  capons  or  turkeys,  which  are  said  to  be  far  better 
protectors  to  the  chickens  than  hens ;  they  require,  however,  a  certain 
amount  of  schooling  preparatory  to  being  entrusted  with  their  charge, 
which  consists  in  this :  When  a  turkey  has  been  hatching  for  some 
months  and  shows  a  disposition  to  leave  off,  a  glassful  of  wine  is  given 
her  in  the  evening,  and  a  number  of  chickens  are  substituted  for  the 
eggs ;  on  waking  in  the  morning  she  kindly  takes  to  them  and  leads 
them  about,  strutting  amidst  a  troop  of  seventy  to  one  hundred 
chickens  with  the  dignity  of  a  drum-major.  When,  however,  a  troop 
leader  is  required  that  has  not  been  hatching,  such  as  a  capon  or  a 
turkey,  then  it  is  usual  to  pluck  some  of  their  feathers  from  the  breasts, 
and  to  give  them  a  glass  of  wine,  and  whilst  in  a  state  of  inebriaition  to 
place  some  chickens  under  them ;  on  getting  sober  the  next  morning 
they  feel  that  some  sudden  change  has  come  over  them,  and  as  the 
denuded  part  is  kept  warm  by  the  chickens  they  take  also  kindly  to  them. 
In  conclusion,  I  feel  in  justice  bound  to  say  that  these  artificial  living 
protectors  are  most  eflBcient  to  shelter  chickens  in  the  day-time,  and  in 
the  evening  they  are  placed  with  their  charge  in  a  shallow  box  filled  with 
hay,  from  which  they  do  not  move  till  the  door  of  the  room  is  opened 
next  morning.  I  must  not  omit  to  mention  that  the  chickens  are  not 
entrusted  to  the  mother  or  a  leader  before  they  are  a  week  old,  and 
then  only  in  fine  weather. 

FEEDING    AND    FATTENING. 

The  System  op  Feeding  Poultry  in  France  is  far  more  judicious 
than  our  own  ;  and  I  may  safely  assert  that  I  have  not  noticed  a  single 
instance  of  Poultry  beinu:  fed  on  whole  grain,  as  it  is  the  case  with  us. 
On  inquiring  the  reason  why  they  fed  by  meal  made  into  a  stiff  paste,  I 
was  informed  that  whole  grain  would  be  too  expensive,  produce  less 
eggs,  too  much  fat,  aud  cause  more  disease  when  the  fowls  are  fed  ad 
libitum,  so  as  to  completely  fill  their  crop,  which  renders  the  digestion 
difficult.  The  food  is  mostly  composed  of  about  one  half  bran  and  one 
half  buckwheat,  barley,  or  oat-meal  made  into  a  stiff  paste,  with  which 
the  fowls  are  fed  twice  a  day,  namely,  at  sunrise  and  sunset ;  this  diet  is 
given  indiscriminately  to  old  and  young.  In  some  farms,  where  the 
Poultry  have  not  the  run  of  meadows,  they  are  provided  with  a  certain 
amount  of  animal  and  vegetable  food,  which  system  is  so  consonant 
with  my  own  notion,  that  I  will  now  describe  that  followed  at  an 
establishment  already  noticed.  All  the  waste  of  butchers'  shops  are 
obtained  at  the  expense  of  collecting  them ;  these  are  boiled,  the  fat 
skimmed  off,  which  when  coagulated  is  with  the  waste  finely  minced 
and  mixed  with  the  meal ;  after  which  the  waste  of  the  kitchen  garden, 
such  as  cabbage  stalks,  are  boiled  in  the  liquid  and  mixed  with  bran, 
«»our  poultry  food,  etc.,  which  is  then  given  to  the  pigs,  who  thrive  ad 


112  DOMESTIC  POULTET. 

mirably  on  it.  Buckwheat  is  considered  preferable  to  all  other  grains  as 
a  stimulant  to  laying  eggs,  and  in  winter  a  certain  amount  is  given 
whole.  The  chickens  for  the  first  week  after  being  hatched,  and  in 
winter  for  a  much  longer  time,  are  fed  by  hand  on  barley  meal  mixed 
with  milk,  stale  bread  soaked  in  water,  and  green  food  finely  chopped. 

Fattening  of  Poultkt. — Whilst  the  rearius:  is  carried  on  by  farmers, 
the  fattening  forms  quite  a  special  trade,  and  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  cot- 
tagers, who  purchase  the  chickens  either  from  formers  or  in  the  market ; 
moreover  it  is  the  exclusive  trade  of  a  few  villages  in  each  Poultry 
breeding  district,  such  as  Goussainville,  de  Saint  Lubin,  de  LaHaye,  etc., 
/  near  Houdan.  Villaine  and  Boce  near  La  Fleclie  au  Mans,  also  some 
•  hamlets  near  St.  Pierre  Dive,  Lizieux,  Calvados.  In  these  localities  the 
system  of  fattening  differs  however;  the  o>ie  consists  of  liquid  cram- 
ming with  barley  meal  and  milk,  given  by  means  of  a  funnel  introduced 
into  the  throat  of  the  fowl  three  times  a  day ;  this  process  is  exceedingly 
expeditious,  as  one  person  can  easily  cram  at  the  rate  of  60  fowls  per 
hour,  and  the  fattening  lasts  from  fourteen  days  to  three  weeks,  accord- 
ing to  the  disposition  of  the  chicken  to  take  fat ;  the  selection  of  the 
fattening  stock  requires  some  judgment,  as  some  chickens  are  constitu- 
tionally too  weak  and  others  have  not  the  frame  to  receive  fat.  This 
system  of  liquid  cramming  is  principally  adopted  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Houdan,  and  to  give  an  idea  of  the  importance  of  this  trade  I  will 
now  give  a  short  extract  from  the  pamphlet  I  was  kindly  presented  with 
from  a  most  intelligent  agriculturalist.  Monsieur  De  la  Fosse,  Proprie- 
taire  d  Orval,  Goussainville  pr^s  Houdan  : — 

"  It  is  to  be  desired  that  our  excellent  and  pure  breed  of  Houdan 
should  be  propagated  in  every  other  country  as  much  as  it  is  in  our  own, 
where  the  Poultry  trade  has  taken  such  a  development  that  it  forms  one 
of  the  principal  sources  of  riches.  A  few  exact  statistics  of  this  trade 
in  our  immediate  neighborhood  will  give  a  correct  idea  of  its  importance. 
At  the  Markets  of  Houdan,  Dreux,  and  Nogent  le  Roi  there  are  sold 
annually  upwards  of  6,000,000  head  of  fat  Poultry,  namely : — 

Per  Week.           Per  month.  Per  year. 

Houdan 40,000     160,000     1,920,000 

Dreux 50,000    200,000     ...   .  2.400,000 

NogentleRoi 36,000      140,000     1,680.000 

Total 6,000,000" 

This  does  not  inclnde  the  sale  of  chickens  and  Poultry  which  forms  a 
separate  trade." 

M.  De  la  Fosse  also  deprecates  the  use  of  fat  for  fattening  purposes, 
as  it  deteriorates  the  fineness  and  flavor  of  the  flesh.  In  the  districts 
of  Le  Mans  and  Normandy  the  fattening  is  performed  by  dry  cramming, 
viz.,  the  meal  of  barley  and  buckwheat  are  made  into  a  stiff  paste  with 
milk  and  water,  then  formed  into  pills  two  inches  long  and  half  an  inch 
Id  diameter ;   these  arc  dipped  into  water  and  forced  into  the  throat  of 


APPENDIX.  118 

the  fowl  until  the  crop  la  filled,  twice  a  day ;  it  in,  however,  of  im- 
portance not  to  cram  a  fowl  until  she  has  digested  the  previous  meal,  as 
otherwise  it  might  produce  inflammation  and  death. 

A  most  ill-founded  notion  prevails  with  all  fatteners — that  Poultry 
will  fatten  much  quiclier  without  light  or  ventilation,  and  without  ever 
removing  their  excrements,  which  malics  these  places  most  offensive 
and  unhealthy ;  no  other  reason  could  be  assigned  to  me  than  that  they 
were  quite  sure  that  the  smell  of  the  excrements  stimulated  the  fatten- 
ing ;  in  this  there  is  about  as  much  reason  as  in  the  notion  our  farmers 
used  to  entertain  that  pigs  could  only  thrive  in  filth.  In  one  place 
however,  which  I  visited  in  company  with  Monsieur  Noel,  proprietor 
of  the  "  Lion  d'Or"  at  La  Fleche,  a  m©st  intelligent  man,  and  himself 
a  large  farmer,  the  cottager  had  provision  made  for  the  excrements  to 
fall  through  the  floor  of  the  pen,  and  on  pointing  out  the  innovation  he 
prided  himself  on  his  invention,  as,  said  he,  I  can  now  remove  tlie  ma- 
nure, and  the  feathers  of  the  fowls  get  less  dirty,  .and  the  birds  have 
also  more  air.     This  surely  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction. 

KILLING    AND    DRESSING. 

This  also  is  a  speciality,  carried  on  by  men  calleA2Wurs  et  Apprdeura; 
they  are  astonishingly  expert  in  their  business,  and,  unless  witnessed  as 
we  have  done,  would  appear  incredible,  that  one  man  can  kill  and  pluck 
at  the  rate  of  one  fowl  per  minute,  or  sixty  per  hour :  the  price  paid  for 
this  work  is  about  one  farthing  per  head  for  lean  and  one  halfpenny  for 
fat  Poultry.  The  system  of  killing  difi'ers,  however,  in  this,  that  whilst 
in  Paris  they  make  a  gash  in  the  throat,  in  the  country  they  stick  the 
Poultry  in  the  back  of  the  roof  of  the  beak,  but  both  cause  immediate 
death ;  the  latter,  however,  is  the  cleanest  and  most  desirable.  Tliey 
deprecate  our  system  of  twisting  the  neck  as  cruel,  discoloring  the 
flesh,  and  causing  early  putrefaction  of  the  coagulated  blood.  When  a 
man  plucks  he  has  three  baskets  near  him,  into  which  he  drops  the 
feathers  according  to  size ;  and  the  reason  of  plucking  the  fowls  instan- 
taneously after  death  is  the  great  saving  in  time,  and  the  prevention  of 
tearing  the  skin,  which  cannot  well  be  avoided  when  the  fowl  once 
gets  cold. 

The  lean  fowls  are  immediately  emptied  of  their  intestines,  but  not  so 
with  the  fat  stock,  which  contain  a  large  quantity  of  valuable  fat,  which 
is  used  for  basting,  and  to  give  flavor  to  lean  Poultry. 

With  chickens  they  take  care  to  leave  the  down  on,  as  .an  index  of 
their  age,  and  in  all  fowls  they  leave  about  half-a-dozen  feathers  in  the 
rump,  which  gives  a  very  pretty  appearance. 

As  soon  as  the  fowl  is  plucked,  and  before  cold,  it  is  laid  on  its  back 
on  a  bench,  and  wrapped  round  with  a  wet  linen  cloth  to  mould  its 
shape,  and  to  give  the  skin  a  finer  appearance ;  however,  they  use  no 
flour,  as  with  us,  to  give  an  old  hen  the  appearance  of  a  chicken. 


114  DOMESTIC  POITLTEY. 

The  fat  Poultry  is  drawn  and  dressed  by  cooks ;  they  make  an  incision 
under  the  leg  to  withdraw  the  intestines,  by  which  means  the  fowl  is 
not  disfigured. 

UTILIZING   THE   WASTE   PRODUCTS. 

Bxidtry  Manure. — In  France,  as  well  as  in  our  own  country,  most 
eminent  chemists  have  proved  by  analysis  that  Poultry  manure  is  a  most 
valuable  fertilizer,  and  yet  for  want  of  a  proper  system  in  housing 
Poultry  it  has  as  yet  not  been  rendered  available  to  rural  economy.  In 
France,  as  in  England,  the  Poultry  manure  is  left  to  accumulate  in  the 
Poultry  homes,  to  the  loss  of  Ihrmers  and  to  the  detriment  of  the 
health  of  fowls. 

The  Feathers  are  carefully  collected  and  sorted,  and  when  well  dried 
sold  to  dealers. 

The  Intestines  are  boiled,  the  fat  skimmed  off,  which  is  sold  separate ; 
the  intestines  are  then  minced  as  food  for  Poultry,  and  the  liquid  is 
used  for  feeding  pigs. 

TTie  Combs  and  Kidneys  are  sold  to  pastry  cooks — the  first  for  deco- 
rating and  the  latter<or  flavoring  pies. 

The  Head,  Neck,  and  Feet  are  sold  to  hotels,  restaurants,  etc.,  for  flavor- 
ing sauces,  or  boiled  down  to  make  chicken  jelly. 

THE   SYSTEM   OF   SELLING 

Poultry  in  France  is  far  preferable  to  our  own,  although,  in  my  opinion, 
it  would  be  still  better  were  Poultry  sold  by  weight.  However,  a 
farmer  or  merchant  who  consigns  Poultry  to  Paris  is  sure  to  obtain  a 
true  return  of  whatever  they  fetched,  as  he  does  not  rely,  as  with  us,  on 
the  honesty  of  a  dealer. 

At  the  wholesale  Poultry  market.  La  Vall6e,  in  Paris,  where  all 
Poultry,  dead  or  alive,  is  forwarded  from  all  parts  of  France,  there  are 
a  number  of  licensed  agents  to  whom  the  Poultry  is  consigned,  and 
who  sell  it  by  auction  to  the  highest  bidder;  this  market  is  a  curious 
scene,  and  worth  seeing,  from  four  till  nine  in  the  morning,  where 
thousands  of  crates  of  all  descriptions  of  Poultry  are  disposed  of,  and 
cleared  out,  before  twelve  o'clock  in  the  day. 

Every  village  has  its  weekly  markets,  where  farmers  and  their  wives 
bring  their  produce  for  sale,  in  preference  to  selling  it  at  the  farmyard. 
The  police  regulations  in  these  markets  are  strictly  enforced.  The 
various  products  are  classified  before  the  market  begins.  Each  person 
Is  bound  to  keep  his  assigned  place,  and  not  allowed  even  to  uncover 
his  goods,  and  much  less  to  sell,  before  the  bell  rings,  under  a  fine  of 
five  francs.  At  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  the  bustle  to  uncover,  the  rust 
of  buyers,  and  the  chattering,  is  worth  while  to  witness.    The  dealers 


APPENDIX.  115 

and  merchants  take  up  their  stand  outside  the  market,  where  they  send 
alt  the  products  they  purchase.  The  seller  has  a  ticket  given  him,  with 
the  purchase  price  on  it,  and  is  paid  on  delivery  of  the  goods  at  the 
dealer's  stand.  It  seems  almost  incredible  to  believe  that  even  in  some 
village  markets,  within  two  hours,  such  a  vast  amount  of  business  can 
be  transacted  with  the  greatest  order  and  decorum.  Some  merchants 
wiU  purchase  from  2000  to  3000  pounds  of  butter ;  others,  20,000  to 
30,000  eggs,  or  some  thousand  head  of  Poultry,  etc. ;  all  which  are 
taken  to  their  warehouse  to  be  sorted,  packed,  and  perhaps  forwarded 
the  same  day  either  to  London  or  Paris.  I  may  add  that  the  current 
price  for  every  commodity  is  fixed  and  known  immediately  after  the 
market  opens,  and  depends  entirely  on  the  demand  and  supply.  For 
instance,  fat  chickens  fetched  four  shillings  each ;  twelve  eggs,  seven 
pence ;  butter,  ten  pence  per  pound,  etc. 

For  the  foregoing  information,  I  am  mainly  indebted  to  Mr.  H. 
Lindon,  jun.,  a  most  obliging  gentleman,  who  represents  at  Lizieux 
the  Messrs.  Lindon  Brothers  &  Co.  of  London,  general  merchants ;  in 
his  company  I  have  visited  several  farms,  and  attended  market,  at  which 
he  makes  purchases  of  butter,  grain,  etc.,  for  the  London  market. 


BREEDS,    ETC. 


There  are  three  perfectly  distinct  breeds,  all  very  characteristic  in 
their  appearance ;  and,  when  pure,  they  are  very  true  to  all  their  points. 
[The  author  proceeds  to  give  descriptions  of  the  three  breeds  noticed 
in  the  body  of  this  book,  and  of  these  only,  which  we  omit.] 


HOUDAN   FOWL. 


It  must  be  admitted,  that  most  of  the  farmers  near  Hondan  know  as 
little  of  the  pure  Houdan  breed  as  those  of  La  Fleche  and  Crevecoeur 
know  of  theirs ;  and,  if  you  were  to  order  some  first  class  birds  of 
them,  irrespective  of  price,  they  would  with  good  conscience  forward 
fowls  of  a  large  size — but,  from  a  want  of  knowledge,  some  cross 
breeds.  To  illustrate  this,  I  may  mention  that  I  could  have  purchased, 
at  the  markets  in  those  respective  localities,  splendid  thorough-bred 
specimens  for  about  three  shillings,  the  price  of  common  fowls, — but 
which  were  worth  in  France  even  one  pound  each.  There  are,  however, 
in  each  locality,  some  persons  who  take  an  interest  in  their  pure  breeds, 
particularly  since  they  have  been  encouraged  by  the  reward  of  prizes 
from  Poultry  exhibitions. 


116  DOMESTIC  POULTRY. 

CAPONAGE. 

There  seems  to  exist  a  considerable  difference  of  o^»laion  Ib  various 
parts  of  France  as  to  the  necessity  of  castrating  your.g  cocks  for  fatten- 
ing purposes.  In  some  localities  they  pretend  that  when  cocks  are  not 
allowed  to  associate  with  the  opposite  sex  that  they  will  attain,  when 
fattened,  a  greater  weight,  and  be  much  finer  m  regards  flavor  of  flesh ; 
others  again  say  that  when  a  cock  is  castrtfted,  it  can  be  kept  till  a  more 
mature  age  without  deteriorating  its  quality,  and  by  this,  attain  an 
extraordinary  weight  when  fattened^  besides  making  them  useful  as 
troop  leaders  of  chickens,  as  before  described.  I  cannot  decide  which 
of  the  two  systems  is  the  best  or  most  advantageous,  more  than  I  can 
decide  about  the  two  systems  of  cramming,  without  making  experi- 
ments ;  this  much,  however.  I  have  noticed,  that  virciu  cocks  lalten 
very  readily,  and  fetch  prices-  ae  high  as  capons. 


TECHNICAL  T£BMS. 


117 


TERMS    AND    TECHNICALITIES. 

The  Terms  explained  by  reference  to  the  above  engrav- 
ing, are  as  follows : 


A— The  Face. 

B— The  Comb. 

C— The  Wattles. 

D— The  Ear. 

E— The  Ear-lobe. 

F — Neck-hackle. 

G — Saddle  feathers  or  Back-hackle. 

H— Breast,  extending  to  the  thighs. 


J — Upper  wing-coverts. 
K — Lower  wing-coverts. 
L — Flight  feathers. 
M— The  Tail. 
N— Sickle  Tail-feathen  . 
O— Tail  Corerts. 
P— The  Thighs. 
R— The  Legs. 

Some  other  terras  are  the  following : 

Broody— Inclined  to  sit  or  incubate  '^ 

Carunculated. — Covered  with  fleshy  protuberances  like  a  Turkey-cock's  lieaJ 

and  neck,  or  the  head  of  a  Musk  drake. 
Cas/jue. — The  helmet-like,  fleshy  protuberance  or  comb  of  the  Guinea  Fowl 


118  DOMESTIC  POtJLTBT. 

Cluteh.^A  number  of  eggs  sat  upon  by  a  fowl,  or  the  number  of  chickeni 

brought  off. 
Clung. — Shrunk  and  stringy,  applied  to  flesh  which  has   never  been  properly 

fattended,  or  which  has  fallen  away  after  being  fat. 
Crest.— The  Tuft  of  Feathers  which  some  fowls,  like  the  Polands,  have  upon 

their  heads. 
Deaf  Ear. — A  name  improperly  applied  to  the  true  ear  of  the  fowl. — A  fallow 

hole,  or  depression  with  a  hair-like  covering. 
Dubbing. — Trimming  off  the  combs  and  wattles  of  Game  fowls,  for  fighting,  or 

for  exhibition. 
Dunghills. — Common  Fowls ;  those  of  mixed  breeds,  not  crossed  with  definite 

purpose,  or  those  of  a  breed  degenerated. 
Fluff — Soft  downy  feathers  in  masses  upon  certain   parts  of  fowls — as  upon  the 

rumps  and  thighs  of  Cochins. 
Moulting. — Periodical  shedding  and  renewal  of  feathers. 
Pea-comb.— A  tripple  comb — a  principal  comb  with  a  small  one  on  each  side. 
Poult.— A  young  turkey,  or  other  galinaceous  fowl,  before  it  takes  on  the  full 

plumage  of  a  mature  bird. 
Rose-comb. — A  full,  broad,  flat  comb,  called  also  "Double  comb." 
Top  Krot.— See  Crest. 
Vulture  Hocked. — Having  the  feathers  upon  the  thigh  project  backward  below 

and  beyond  the  "  hock"  joints. 


INDEX.  119 

INDEX. 

Basket  for  Transporting  and  Showing  Fowls .' 105 

Breeding  from  Young  Fowls  desirable 19 

Breeding— Necessity  of  Fresli  Blood  20 

Breeds : 

Bantams,  Golden  and  Silver  Seabrights,  Description,  etc.— Character- 
istics not  well  fixed — Welglit — Black  Bantams— Feather-legged,  etc. — 

Layers,  Sitters,  and  Nurses 70 

Bolton  Greys 66 

Brahma  Pootras — Oripin— First  Appearance — Description — Opinions  of 
Poultry  Fanciers— Estimation  of^  Brahma's  in  Different  Countries — 

High  Prices — Sitters  and  Nurses — Layers  and  Market  Fowls 34-41 

Cochin  China  Fowls — Introduction  and  Dissemination — Description — 
Colors— Changes  of  Plumage  with  Age— Early  Layers  and  Sitters. 62-66 

Creole  Fowls 66 

CreveccEur  Fowls 77 

Dominiques 66 

Dorkings— Antiquity— First  brought  to  the  U.  S.— Varieties— Value  as 
Layers,  Market  Birds,  etc.- May  not  be  bred  in-and-in— Estimation 

in  England — Grey  preferred  to  White  variety 41-48 

French  Breeds,  with  Description  of  each 75-SO 

French  Methods  of  Rearing,  Fattening,  etc.  (Appendix) 107-116 

Games — Antiquity  of  Cock-fighting— Characterisliiis  and  Description — 
Dubbing— Cutting-out— Fitness  for  the  Table— Lord  Derby's  breed- 
Good  Sitters  and  Nurses  54-59 

Game  Fowls  fe<l  so  as  to  harden  Plumage        105 

Hamburgs,  Golden  and  Silver-penciled— Origin  and  Description- Non- 

sitlers— Guards 66-67 

Houdan  Fowls 77-115 

La  Fleche  Fowls :...  79 

Leghorn  Fowls— Source,  Characteristics,  Pure  type,  etc 73 

Malays— Origin  and  Description — Chickens— Colors— Hardiness— Pug- 
nacity  60-62 

Poland  Fowls — Black,  and  Spangled— Description— Mal-formatlon  com- 
mon        63-70 

Spanish  Fowls— Description— Color— Form— Large  Eggs— Difficult  to 

rear— White  Feathers  in  Chickens— Constant  Layers 49-53 

Spanish  Fowls  confined  before  Exhibiting 105 

Chickens— Care  of  Young : 2('-21 

Coop  for  Fattening  Fowls 22-25 

Coop  for  Hen  and  Chickens SO 

Coop  for  very  Early  Chickens 103 

Cramming  Fowls 25-26 

Degeneracy  of  Blood,  How  shown 32 

Diseases  : 

Arising  from  filthy  Water    22 

Bumble-footed 11 

Crop-bou  nd 26 

Dropsy  caused  by  stimulating  food,,.. 18 

Gapes 30 

Inciigestion 25-31 

Over-feeding 18 

Roup 29 

Scouring : 31 

Weak  Knees 11-32 

Ducks : 

Aylesbury 95 

Aylesbury,  Opinions  of  popular  Writers  and  Poultry  Fanciers 96-97 

Enemies  of 95 

Feeding  and  Management 93 

Musk  or  Muscovy 97 

Musk— Various  Authorities  on 97-98 

Rouen— Characteristics  of,  etc 100 

Ducklings  in  the  down  die  of  wet 91 


120  INDEX 

Fattening  Food  and  Time  of  Feeding,  23— See  also  Appendix 112 

Fattemno  Fowls,  22 — See  al.«o  Appendix      Ill 

Age  most  suitable  for 27 

Cause  of  lough  flesh  in 27-28 

Killed  after  Fasting  28 

Shelter  essential  to 27 

Time  required  for 24-26 

Feeding  Fowls.  l.>-16-24— Also  Appendix HI 

Feeding  after  Traveling  or  Fasting 10 

Food  : 

Amount  consumed  by  Fowls 15 

For  Show  birds 105 

For  Young  Chickens. 21 

Grass,  essential  15-34 

insects,  etc.,  as  food  ^ 17 

Raw  meat  unsuitable f 10 

Stimulating  food,  Effect  of .' IH 

To  make  Hens  lay j....i- 18 

Vegetable  food'for  Fowls I X. 15 

Fowls  :  ^ 

Avoid  drauglils ,. 11 

Mentioned  in  Scriptures  and  In  the  Classics 0 

Ori^iiM  of  Domestic .    ~^7X* ' ' * 

CxBsE :  y/^  f  ' 

- —    Breeding  Geese y^. , 90 

Disease  of,  from  short  feed .^y,^. 90 

Habits  at  pasture /. 90 

African     / 92 

Bremen W. /. '. 93 

China .....i 92 

--i;;^^    Domestic  V..-. 89 

ib.len 92 

92 

Goo8e-h(itiMN^ 
Goose  Pasture.. 
Goose— Varieties  of  the^ 

Gi>slliig9— Bood  for >>-. 1. fl 

Goslings— W)tmg.  killed  by  hoT^un \ 91 

Guinea  Fowl— HfaMt^— Eggs— Hi!}«  their  Nests— How  to  find  them — Mate  in 

-PairsYBreedi?>g.etc >v^ 8f-88 

Hatching  intiiwiatural  way ••**Vi ^ 

Hatching  by  AnJlIfcial  means— Forced,  b^^irkeys,  etc.  (Appendix) 108-109 

Killing  and  Dressing  as  done  system  at  icallyVj  France 113 

Laying  and  SittiiK  Hens,  Kept  apart 13 

Lice      \ 31 

Nest  Boxes  .\ 12 

Nests— Grass  Sods  for  Bottoms  of 13 

Perches  for  Roosts.  •.. .     .   II 

Poultry  for  Exhibitiofis— Breeding  and  Management  of 102-106 

Poultry  for  Exhibitioha— Fighting  or  Cowed  fowls  to  be  avoided  in - . .  104 

PovLTRY  Houses :      \ 

Planof  Cheap.   \ 14 

Dlvlslonsof.   ..\... I2 

Earth  floors  for... \ 13-14 

Fowls  only  in.  ...i     12 

Should  be  lofty. ..  .V 10 

Ventilation  oK  ...1 11-14 

-"^      Why  deMrable....! 10 

Poultry  Yard— Covered  rtin 13 

Turkles-  Colors— Hardiness— Habits— Breeding— Choice  of  Breeding  Birds- 
Cock  destniys  Eags— Hen  a  faithful  Sitter— Care  of  chickens 81-86 

^Vat•r— Purity  and  FreslBiess  essential 21 

Washing  Poultry  ...         105 

White  Ifowls  to  hare  Freedom  before  Exhibiting  them lOS 


•li£S6  LIBRARY'^ 


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